“Right,” Patrick continued. “Maria José, this is Dan and Josh.” Sticky rubber-gloved handshakes ensued between them. “Maria José is in charge of both our packer training and quality control. She’s going to show you everything you need to know about prawns; how to grade them, how to pack them, how to tell a bad one from a good one. By the end of a week, you should both know instinctively the source of a consignment by its quality, as well as the destination of each of the boxes you have packed.” He laughed out loud at the expression of horror on Dan’s face. “Don’t look so worried, Dan. You’ll manage fine.”

“Talk about being thrown in at the deep end,” Dan groaned. “I’m not the most practical of people, you know.”

“Neither was I when I started in here. In fact, it took me about two months to get to grips with it all.” He reached out and gave Dan’s arm a shove. “It’s important that you do this, Dan, not only to help you understand the business, but also it shows the others that you can work alongside them. It’s only for a week, and Maria José will be looking after you the whole time. She won’t let you make a mistake. Anyway, look at Josh.” Dan turned to see that Josh had already started to sift through a large yellow box of prawns that stood beside the packing table, listening attentively to what the Spanish girl had to say about them in her husky, broken English accent. “He seems to be enthusiastic enough.”

“I’m not sure if the enthusiasm stems from the sorting of the prawns,” Dan said out of the corner of his mouth.

Patrick laughed. “In that case, he’ll learn fast.” He backed his wheelchair away from the table. “Kate said that you’ll be wanting to buy some provisions?”

“Yes, and I’ve also got to find myself something a little more suitable to wear for your unpredictable Scottish weather.”

“Probably not a bad idea. Well, we’re only going to be working until four o’clock this afternoon, so we’ll head into Fort William after we’ve finished up here. Then tomorrow morning, it would be best if you both started with the rest of the gang at seven o’clock. Reckon you’re up to that?”

“It’ll be just like old times.”

“Good.” He turned his wheelchair towards the door that led through to the office, and then glanced back over his shoulder. “Oh, and another thing. Does Josh drive?”

Dan sucked in a breath. “He’s passed his test, but he’s hardly been behind the wheel since then. He always used public transport in London.”