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‘Just a walk to the barley field.’

In a silly way, I was hoping my knowledge of crops would prove I was a country-girl, not a clueless mainland urbanite.

‘Shut the gate?’

‘There wasn’t a gate…’ I stammered, before noticing the curve at the corner of his mouth.

‘Hmmm.’ He rubbed a hand over his bedraggled beard.

‘Although, I did make sure the Clover Field gate was secure last night.’

‘If you say so. Your mother would argue black is blue, to save looking a fool.’

He turned towards me, that beady stare like a gun pointing at my chest.

I couldn’t speak. Every muscle had frozen.

‘Don’t seem so surprised, girl. I got eyes. Best thing she did was swallow her pride and run back home. Even if it nearly cost us everything when my brother went with her.’ He turned back to the tree. ‘No good can come of you poking that old bees’ nest.’

He bent forwards, prodding the trunk with his crutch, clearly signalling that the conversation was over. I waited another moment while my body remembered how to move, then scurried past, thoughts freewheeling faster than the gulls above my head.

21

‘Perfect timing,’ Lily trilled, coming out of the kitchen to find me taking off my muddy trainers. ‘Bases are rolled out, sauce is ready. All that’s left to do is choose your toppings.’ She turned to go, before twisting around again, as if she’d remembered an afterthought. ‘Oh, and Pip asked if you fancied helping at the Old Barn afterwards. What with chasing down the cows this morning, and waiting for the vet, they’ve not made much progress and Violet is feeling the pressure.’

I was tempted to decline, opting for a long bath and an early night instead. While I was used to physically busy days, so much emotional upheaval on top of a rubbish night’s sleep had left me drained and jittery. Richard’s cryptic comment had only added to the chaotic swirl of the milk jug, Mum, escaped cows, wedding plans, my future plans and the business that I’d temporarily abandoned at who knew what cost.

The reasons I chose to accept were firstly because I was clearly being blamed for them being so behind, and so helping out was the least I could do. Secondly, while the situation with Pip should have added yet another layer of stress and uncertainty, in reality, the thought of an evening clearing out afilthy barn of junk with him felt more soothing than a bath, or a glass of wine in the garden. I acknowledged that right then, I needed to be with a friend. And, perhaps more importantly, I ached for my mother’s steady presence. Spending time with the man who had loved her felt like the next best thing.

Cycling over to the farm after helping clear up dinner, I found Pip with Violet and Gabe, lugging a huge piece of machinery out of the Old Barn’s double doors.

I was hovering at a safe distance when Rosemary appeared at my shoulder.

‘Ach, Emmie, you really shouldn’t be here.’

I felt a stab of paranoid panic that she was angry about the gate until she nudged me with a twinkling smile.

‘This is your holiday. It’s bad enough that my family had the cheek to strong-arm you into cooking for a wedding – they forget that the rest of the world has those things you call “boundaries”. But dragging you over here to help with this mucky mess really is taking liberties. This surely cannot be your best offer for an evening out?’

I didn’t know how to answer that without either confirming that I was, indeed, a bit of a loser, or implying that their beloved island was somehow lacking in things to do. Instead, I mumbled something about repaying Lily for letting me stay. Rosemary shrugged, smiled and led me to a patch of the nearest wall of the barn, which was covered with – oh boy – about a thousand bird droppings, and pointed out a scrubbing brush and a metal bucket with a pair of rubber gloves draped over the rim.

‘Well, if you’re determined to help, then this is the safest job for a newbie. Make sure you wear the mask and gloves. You can catch nasty infections from breathing in the dust.’

I almost asked if you could catch them from drinking it in a mug of tea too.

The light was fading by the time I put down the brush, satisfied that the wall was now worthy of a wedding reception. I’d worn half the bristles off and refilled the bucket from an outside tap more times than I cared to count.

I pulled off the mask and gloves, wiped my grimy forehead and stretched out the kinks in my back as Pip walked over. Apart from a quick hello, we’d both been focused on our different tasks – or, in my case, at least pretending to be – so this was the first time he’d spoken to me properly since I’d arrived.

‘You must be ready for a drink.’

‘A cup of tea would be bliss.’

‘Will blackberry wine do instead?’ He held out a Coca-Cola sized bottle of dark liquid.

‘Needs must, I suppose.’

He clinked his bottle against mine, and we perched on the side of a rusty water trough that was almost as filthy as we were. Rosemary had disappeared to make Aster’s supper a while ago, and not returned. As Gabe went to help Richard check the chickens were safely abed, Violet came to say goodnight, grabbing a bottle from Pip’s bag to take with her.