At seven o’clock she got out of bed and showered. The gas boiler had only just switched on and the water was hardly tepid. She dressed carefully. At eight o’clock she phoned the Cadver and asked to speak to Jeremy Grenville. A woman, presumably the housekeeper, said flatly that he was not available.

‘Could you tell him that I’d like to see him,’ Eve said and left her name.

‘Of course,’ the woman said. But Eve had left similar messages the day before and she had heard nothing from Jeremy.

Immediately afterwards Eve phoned the house number of the special school’s head teacher.

‘I’m terribly sorry,’ she said. ‘I’ve got a lousy stomach bug. I’ve been up all night. I think I’ll have to stay at home today until it clears up.’

The head teacher was sympathetic. Eve hadn’t been looking well for a few days, she said. She should take as long as she needed to get better.

Eve replaced the receiver and left her flat. There were few people in the town. It was before the start of the season and many of the tourist shops stayed closed until after Easter. The Deux Chevaux was off the road again. She walked out of Appleworth on the Crowford Road. When she reached open countryside she walked more quickly, sticking out her thumb to hitch a lift whenever she heard a car approaching.

Jeremy Grenville immersed himself in work and tried not to think of Eve Theobald. He had had years of practice at distancing himself from unpleasantness. Before breakfast he went on to the hill to look at the strip of heather Vic Liddle was proposing to burn. It was not that he questioned Vic’s judgement. Vic knew more about keeping and the countryside than he ever would. He wanted to prepare himself for the day’s work. He had watched Vic burning on the hill when he was a child but had never before taken part. He was worried about appearing ignorant.

When he returned to the Cadver his mother was already eating breakfast in the dining room. There was no sign of his father and when he asked where Marcus was his mother seemed not to know.

‘Miss Theobald was on the telephone for you,’ Olivia said. ‘Again.’

Jeremy said nothing.

‘She really is a persistent and ill-mannered girl,’ Olivia said. ‘You should be pleased to have discovered in time how unsuitable she is.’

Jeremy ate bacon and sausage and concentrated on the plans for the day’s work on the fell. He thought Vic would burn against what wind there was. The fire would move more slowly that way. Vic prided himself that a Cadver fire had never got away from him.

‘Jeremy!’ Olivia said. ‘I’m talking to you!’

He cleared his plate, stood up abruptly and left the room.