“No one would expect you to,” Sarah assured him. “But I’m sure you don’t make loans to young women under any circumstances.”

This was so obvious, it didn’t merit a response. “Her mother was ill and needed medical care,” he continued, “but they hardly had enough to live on. She was hoping to borrow some money from the bank, but I had to disappoint her. She was very upset. She was afraid her mother was going to die.”

“That would be upsetting,” Sarah agreed, still wondering how this encounter led to Nelson needing the services of a midwife.

“The bank couldn’t lend her the money, of course, but I… Well, I couldn’t just turn her away, could I? There’s no telling what a young woman will do if she feels desperate enough. She even hinted that she… that she might have to… to…”

“To compromise her virtue?” Sarah supplied helpfully.

“Yes, yes,” Nelson agreed gratefully. “She was so innocent and sweet, I couldn’t bear the thought of her degrading herself. She only needed a hundred dollars, so I…” His voice trailed off, and he looked away in embarrassment.

Sarah’s imagination conjured several possible things Nelson could have done, but she doubted he was capable of any of them, although the fact that he needed her services proved she was at least partially mistaken in his character. “You didn’t take money from the bank, did you?” she asked, offering the only criminal possibility she could think of.

“Oh, no!” Nelson cried, horrified at the thought. “Nothing like that! I… I loaned her the money myself from my own funds.”

Although he had said she “only” needed a hundred dollars, that was still a lot of money. More than three months’ wages for a laborer. “You were very generous, especially when she probably had no hope of being able to repay you.” Unless, of course, she became Nelson’s mistress. Perhaps that would explain why Mrs. Ellsworth thought Nelson had been working such late hours.