‘Yes,’ Sarah answered. ‘He got trampled on by one of the two horses. The carriage wheels damaged one of his arms and part of a leg—’

‘Oh, I hope he’ll be able to dance again!’ Finn exclaimed, staring at Sarah in alarm.

‘His mam thinks so. His leg and arm are both in casts, plaster of Paris, and the doctor told us he’s badly bruised, but nothing else. Nothing hurt inside him.’

‘That’s good news,’ Blackie said. ‘How long will he be in hospital?’

‘They don’t know, but probably a few weeks. He was a bit out of it on Thursday, drugged. Because of the pain,’ Sarah explained.

‘When did it happen?’ Finn probed.

‘On Monday of this last week. His mam went every day, and she asked me to go with her on Thursday.’

‘So it’s gonna be a long haul?’ Finn asked in a questioning tone.

‘It is, and then he will have to go to a special hospital for recuperation. That’ll be a few weeks, too. Poor Andy, he’s going to be out of action for ages.’

‘All the girls are going to miss him, don’t ye think, Sarah?’ Blackie asked.

‘I do. He loves to dance, and especially with me.’

‘I can’t say I blame him,’ Blackie said gallantly, his dark eyes smiling down at her.

Finn frowned slightly and, staring at Sarah, he asked, ‘Were ye goin’ with him then … courting?’

‘Not exactly,’ Sarah responded at once. ‘But it was heading in that direction. We’d grown to like each other a lot.’

Blackie exclaimed, ‘No wonder ye are so upset. Mind ye, most people who know him would be, I’m sure of that, I swear on the heads of the Blessed Saints.’

‘You’re right,’ Sarah answered. ‘People have been trying to get to see him all week.’

‘I expect that’s why this place isn’t so full tonight … I mean because Andy ain’t here,’ Finn murmured.

‘Not exactly. It’s emptier than usual because Billy Flint got married to Lettice Maple today. At Christ Church, and there’s a wedding dinner at the church hall, going on right at this moment.’

‘Oh really,’ Blackie said, glancing at Sarah, thinking she sounded rather bitter. ‘I don’t believe I know that couple.’

‘You’ve not missed anything,’ Sarah remarked, making a face. ‘Although they deserve each other, in my opinion.’

‘I agree with ye,’ Finn jumped in. ‘A couple of snobs to my way of thinking. Toffee-nosed, that’s for sure—’

Finn stopped as the door flew open and Alf Smithson rushed in, frantically looking around. He noticed his fellow workers from Pat Kennedy’s workshop and hurried across the room to join them.

‘Finn, Sarah, have you seen Gwen?’ he asked in an anxious voice.

‘Yes. She’s here somewhere, Alf.’ Sarah frowned. ‘I think I saw her go to the ladies’ lav.’