Anne closed the door behind her Mable and led the girl down the steps. "Careful, there's a loose tile 'ere."

She was thankful that Mable dropped the topic of her sister. Although Anne often felt helpless for want of someone to talk to about Alice, she didn't yet feel comfortable sharing the story and her anxieties with her new friend. What if Mable would judge Alice for the mistake she had made, or say that she should be grateful for having the opportunity to marry so well?

She once again covered the wound for now, and gave her friend a small smile. "I would like that, if me father will allow it. I've never been inside an 'otel before. What's it like?"

The returned to the main alley of the Cragg, but now followed it in the opposite direction. The children watched them recede.

Anne's smile put Mable at ease.  She returned it, reaching out and linking her arm in Anne's again.

"Oh, Anne, it is very nice!  Nicer than any place I'd ever even though existed!  Let alone be allowed inside.  It's very large and pretty, with curtains and nice new wooden desks and very plush chairs.  Mine and my brother's room is one of the smaller ones, but I still think it very extragent - extravagant?  Extravagant!"

To her, it felt more like being in a castle, but Mable still preferred being outside than cooped up all day.

"Maybe if we ask your father just now when we see him, he'll be more aggregable!  I'm very charming when I need to be, and we're obviously such wonderful friends!"

[CW: reference to racism and xenophobia]

Extravagant. Such a big word. Alice sometimes used big words like that. Well, she would love to see that extravagant room and pretend she was a wealthy lady staying there on a seaside holiday. Maybe Mable would play along, and they could pretend to be best friends from wealthy families, traveling together. The room wouldn't even need to be in Whitby. It could be in France or Italy!

It seemed weird to call oneself charming. It wasn't modest. But when Mable referred to them as good friends, Anne couldn't help feeling warm with happiness. "I don't think we should ask 'im now," she said as they walked down the Cragg. "'e'll 'ave a lot on 'is mind and 'e might be in a mood."

They turned and walked some steps down to the road by the river and followed it. "'E can be a bit... uhm..." she turned red. She did not normally talk much about what her father was like, and having to reflect on it made her feel embarrassed in a way she wished she wasn't, and that in turn raised concerns she'd rather bury. "'E doesn't like me hangin' around people 'e thinks are a bad influence. So please..." What could she even advice? "... please be very polite and uhm, don't say owt that might make 'im think yer uhm... not proper company." She hoped that didn't insult her friend. "Not that I think you would be!" she quickly added.

Would her father frown upon the colour of her friend's skin. He had never said anything negative about people of a different race, but she could never know what he might find fault with. Or would he deem Mable unsuitable company because she was foreign and homeless, and more exposed to the world than Anne? As they passed the bridge and took the steps down to the docks, she felt rather nervous

Anne's warning did not fall on deaf ears, though Mable didn't respond to her right away.  Despite how she knew she seemed, she wasn't completely ignorant of the world around her and how it viewed her.  For most of her life, the amount of people she had contact with was very limited, but after leaving the farm it had increased exponentially.

More than once on their journey from the farm to here, they had been impeded by people who looked down on her and her brother simply because of the color of her skin.  The thought of meeting someone else who might - and that someone being her friend's dad - made her a bit nervous too.

"How about this, then," she began tentatively.  "You do a lot of the talking, since you'll know how to, since he's your dad, and I'll just agree with you.  That way I won't say anything he won't like, probably, and he'll think I'm very sweet and nice like you!  How does that sound?"

Anne was glad that Mable didn't seem mad and offered a constructive solution. She did not want to condemn her friend to near silence but she did not want to lose her as a friend either.

They reached her father's boat. He was there with the two men on his team and William, her younger brother, who still served as a lad.

"I'm so glad ye're okay!" she said. There were only a few fish in the boat, so they had risked their lives for nothing.

"Aye, said her father. "It was too rough out there. Take the net, Anne, and hang it out to dry. It needs mendin'." He glanced at Mable but did not say anything, and Anne did not introduce her, but took the net and stepped back.

Mable followed Anne all the way to the docks, a step behind when a group of men came into view looking very big and intimidating.  Anne spoke to one of the men - her father, Mable assumed, and then stepped back and away from her.

She felt to flounder for a moment.  Looking right at any of the men like she wanted to do felt rude, and she had been yelled at for less before.  So she averted her eyes from them and looked back to her friend.

"Anne," she whispered, "What should I - um, can I help you with that?"

"It's fine..." Anne whispered. The men pushed away from the dock to land their meagre catch further up in the harbour. Anne looked over at her friend. "I'm sorry. It didn't seem t' right time to introduce ye. I need to bring this 'ome and hand it out and they'll want sum't to eat. Will ye come?"

Quiet and doing her best to help with the net, Mable nodded enthusiastically to Anne.  She didn’t need to explain her reasoning for doing what she was doing.  Mable trusted her completely.  “I would love to come along, if you’ll have me!  I’ll be really helpful, since I know where your home is now.  How should we bring the net and everything?”

"Oh... well. I normally fold it and put part of it over me shoulder. We can carry it between us like this..." she handed Mable one side. The net was heavy, since it was wet and there was seaweed and other rubbish in it, so she didn't mind her friend helping. "Just be careful, so it doesn't loosen further where it ripped." She led Mable back to the Cragg, walking slowly, so that they could handle the net with care.

Back in their yard, Anne carefully draped in over one of the lines spun between the cottages. "There. We need to keep an eye on it and take it in if it starts rainin' again, but it will dry quickly in the wind." She plucked a leaf of seaweed off the net. Come on, ye can 'elp me set t' table while I heat some water." Once inside she pointed out where the plates and cutlery were and turned to the kitchen range.

Mable had never dealt with a net before, so she was careful to follow Anne's lead and instruction to fold and carry it back to the Cragg.  Walking so carefully exhausted her, just a little - she much preferred to skip and hold onto Anne herself as they walked down the street together - but Mable persevered for the sake of the net.

After setting it up on the line, Mable brushed herself off, though water had already seeped into her dress and was cooling her skin.  She minded that less than she probably should have, and rejoined Anne's side to help her further.

"Set the table," Mable repeated, "I'd love to!  I've not done it before, so I'll need some direction, but I've certainly collected water before."  If Anne was preparing to set the table, it must have been getting late already.  Mable hadn't even realized the day was going by so quickly.  She wondered if her brother was back at their hotel room yet, worried about her absence.