It was late afternoon by the time she drove Dilys and Ernie back to Nelson’s Bar, thinking how odd it was they lived apart when they seemed to get on. Then Ernie told Dilys she was very wrinkly and she snapped at him to shut up, and she thought maybe they knew what they were doing after all. As they came into the village, they passed a tall figure walking a big dog and Ernie and Dilys broke off their argument to exclaim, ‘There’s Aaron!’

Clancy drove carefully around the pair while Ernie and Dilys waved out of the car windows.

As she parked outside the Roundhouse, Dilys said, ‘It’s the village meeting at De Silva House later. Are you coming, Clancy?’

Clancy pressed the button that opened the boot so they could access their shopping. ‘I don’t think so.’ She didn’t know anything about the meeting but it didn’t sound appealing.

Dilys pulled herself out of the car. ‘Official village matters are dealt with by the Village Committee through Parish Meetings, but this is a village meeting, which is sort of unofficial.’

Clancy shook her head as she opened her door and hopped out with more agility than Dilys. She’d done pro bono work with a rural charity and had heard enough about the intricacies of Parish Councils, Village Councils and Parish Meetings to feel them best avoided – and that was without considering her prospective welcome at De Silva House. ‘I don’t think I’d have anything to contribute.’

‘You would!’ Dilys cried, sounding disappointed. ‘It’s about improving the village. I want to get internet and you know about it.’

‘No more than many people who’ve used the internet on a regular basis,’ Clancy replied firmly. ‘We’d better get our shopping in. Come for coffee tomorrow and you can tell me about the meeting then.’

‘What good’s that?’ Dilys, instead of taking her bags from Clancy, planted her fists on her hips. Then her face brightened as she looked over Clancy’s shoulder. ‘Aaron! Come and tell Clancy about the village meeting.’

Clancy turned to see Aaron bearing down on them, Nelson with his ears back and tail wagging. Aaron glanced at Clancy.

‘Do you want to come to the meeting?’ he asked in much the way he might have said: ‘Do you want to eat worms?’ Stubble darkened his jaw as if he hadn’t shaved for a couple of days.

‘No,’ answered Clancy obligingly, though nettled at his tone, which she assumed sprang from the fact that the meeting would take place in his parents’ home. It was as if someone had arranged for her to be permanently in the wrong. Will began an affair with Renée; Clancy was asked to leave IsVid. Alice did a runner on her wedding day? Clancy should be kept at arm’s length.

Dilys seemed unaware of the undercurrents. ‘We need the internet. We need to be able to order groceries to come to our houses, and do our banking without having to go into Hunny.’ She clapped Clancy on the shoulder. ‘This girl, she knows all about it. She should tell everyone.’