And she went back downstairs, to pour thick cream and honey on the porridge and to brew fresh coffee for the new batch of harvest boys.

CORMAC FOLLOWED HER outside. “Actually, I might just . . . head back to London,” he said, head down.

Nina looked at him, frowning. “Why?”

“Um, long story. But I need to get packed up down there. Head back here. Just . . . tie up some loose ends.”

“Are you okay?”

Cormac shrugged. “Ach. There was a girl. It didn’t work out.”

Nina smiled sympathetically. “English girls,” she said. “We’re terribly tricky.”

“I might as well go back, get it sorted out. Plus, I think the lads share that car with about twenty other people. Don’t want to get anyone into trouble.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep?”

“Neh, can’t really miss a shift. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay then,” said Nina. “See you in two weeks.”

He paused. “I don’t think the streets of London really are paved with gold.”

Nina looked around the bustling farmyard. In the corner, a quiet Robbie was on the ground, crawling up to little John and pretending to be a bear, while John cackled hysterically. He had adjusted to the quiet of the farm so quickly, Nina hadn’t seen him take a drink since he got there. He ate with the other laborers every night, kept to himself, but the relief in his face was obvious, and Nina always dug him up an extra slice of bacon from somewhere. Little John adored him; Robbie always made him smile, and he crawled around after him half the day. If it hadn’t been ridiculous, Nina would have thought he understood that he was needed.

At a long table set up in the barn, the South London lads were nervously joshing with one another, showing off, talking about who had the biggest muscles for working in the fields, while eating large second helpings of porridge and thick-cut bread with marmalade and surreptitiously texting their mums to let them know they were all right.

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Nina.

Chapter 81

The long, rambling bus had toured the hills at dawn, and Lissa felt it was very unfair, listening to the elderly couple behind her, who were clearly having a massive argument, because it was in Gaelic, and it sounded completely beautiful to her ears anyway.