‘Barnaby!’ The basket flew from her hand, but she barely noticed the eggs smashing around her as she ran towards him, her skirts flying. ‘B-but I don’t understand!’ Her voice came out as a squeak. ‘I-I thought they were taking you to Pickering today.’

Barnaby was grinning like the cat who’d got the cream and so was the doctor as he drew the horse to a halt.

‘And so they were, my dear,’ the doctor answered for him. ‘But fortunately, a witness who saw what happened on the night of the attack came forward at the eleventh hour, as it were, in the early hours of this morning, and because of his statement, which backed the story you and Barnaby gave to the police, Barnaby is now a free man, so I thought I’d bring him home to you.’

Amber felt the floor shift as shock coursed through her and she gripped the side of the coach to steady herself.

‘What? You . . . you mean that you are free?’

Barnaby chuckled. ‘Free as the wind,’ he said happily. ‘Although my leg still isn’t healed so I would appreciate some help in getting down so that I can give my wife a kiss.’

Both the doctor and Amber hurried forward to assist him and once he was on the ground, he caught Amber to him and gave her a resounding smack of a kiss on the lips which made her feel even dizzier than she already did.

‘But who was it who helped you?’ she asked breathlessly when he finally let her go.

‘It was old Trampy Ned,’ the doctor informed her. ‘Turns out that he was in the town the night that Mrs Preston was beaten. Bertie had already stolen her rent money and it seems that he went back for more, but she refused him and so he beat her up quite badly. Something in her must have snapped because when Bertie left, his mother followed him to the top of the cove. Ned saw Bertie attack you and he saw Barnaby rush to defend you and then he saw both men go over the edge of the cliff. It was when you ran for help that Mrs Preston climbed down to Bertie and stuck the knife in him before going home and doing away with herself. Poor woman, she probably couldn’t live with what she had done, although I believe Bertie got everything that was due to him and she did the world a favour by ridding it of him. And so, thanks to Ned, this is the end of it. Now all you two have to do is put this whole sorry incident behind you and live happily ever after, as they do in all the best stories.’

With their eyes fixed on each other Barnaby took his wife in his arms again, gazing at her adoringly. ‘Oh, I think we can manage that, Doctor,’ he said softly.