‘Tess, you idiot, over here!’

Tess looked around wildly but could see no one she recognised, then spotted someone pushing his way towards her. She stared. When she had last seen Jonty he had been about her own height and wearing short trousers and a stained shirt. But the person who approached was a good deal taller than her and broad shouldered, and wearing patched jeans, a leather jacket and stout working boots. He reached her side and grinned and then Tess knew him immediately. Oh, he might be taller and broader, his hair lightened by the hot summer sun and his clothing that of a young man rather than a boy, but he was still undoubtedly her old pal.

‘Jonty!’ she gasped, and grabbed his hands in both of hers. ‘Oh, Jonty, I’m so sorry I didn’t recognise you. You’ve changed so much!’ She turned to the young man who had carried her case for her. ‘This is my pal, the one I told you would be meeting me. Jonty, this is Mr Potter, who’s come here to take up a job with the Norwich Union Insurance Company. He was kind enough to help with my case, but now he can go along to the guard’s van and fetch his trunk.’ She smiled gratefully at the young man. ‘Thank you for your help, Mr Potter. I’ll be all right now.’

She bent to pick up her suitcase, but Jonty was ahead of her. He grabbed it, grinned at young Mr Potter and began to stride towards the barrier, where he surrendered his platform ticket and Tess showed her own ticket. Then they were out on the concourse. ‘We’re going to have to catch a bus to the village,’ Jonty said, glancing at the large watch on his wrist, ‘but the next one won’t be along for half an hour. Want to grab tea and a wad in the refreshment room? You look as though you could do with feeding up.’

‘You look as though you’ve been doing too much feeding altogether,’ Tess said frankly. ‘You’re huge, Jonty. How on earth have you managed to get so tall and broad in such a short time? And your hair always did get lighter in summer, but I swear you didn’t have so many freckles before.’

‘Don’t be so bloody rude,’ Jonty said as they entered the refreshment room. ‘Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to make personal remarks? And anyway, if I’ve changed, so have you. If you want the truth, if I hadn’t recognised the suitcase – and that tatty old mac – I’d have walked right past you.’ He grinned down at her. ‘I’d have said What a pretty girl; pity I don’t know her from Adam, and gone on looking for you.’

Tess felt a warm blush creep up her cheeks and sent a silent thank you winging from her mind to Gran’s, for she knew very well who was responsible for her improved looks. As soon as the invitation to revisit the farm had arrived, Gran had taken her to Lillian’s Hairdressing Salon, and begged Miss Lillian herself to see what she could do with Tess’s fawn-coloured mop. Tess had expressed her own preference for a short style, and after staring at her new customer from every angle, Miss Lillian had done them proud. Tess’s hair had not been cut for many months and resembled nothing so much as a tangled gorse bush, so Miss Lillian had washed and combed and sprayed and cut, and an hour later, when Tess had peeped into the mirror, she had seen a different person, one with a cap of shining hair the colour of light oak which fitted her head neatly and somehow managed to draw attention to her large brown eyes and small pointy-chinned face.