“I’ve been to Bardsey,” Molly said. “I did enjoy it there.”

“It was wonderful,” she said, with a naïve and joyful intensity. “I was born and brought up in the city. I’d never been on an island. We stayed at the observatory. Frank was out all day, filming. He thought that I would be bored, but just being there was enough for me.

“John was assistant warden there. It was early summer. He showed me round. He was shy, but he did love the place. When the time came for the film unit to go, I asked John if I could stay.”

She laughed affectionately. “ He was so surprised. I could tell that he liked me, but he would never have had the nerve to ask me to leave Frank. It was a real pleasure to make him happy. I’d never had that effect on anyone before.”

“And now you’re pregnant again,” Molly said. “Are you pleased?”

“Oh yes. Very pleased, But of course it does make a difference.”

“Yes. It must do.”

“For one thing, I’ve started worrying about money for the first time. And then John has certain expectations. Of me. I don’t want to disappoint him.”

“You won’t disappoint him.”

“No? He doesn’t disappoint me, though he believes that he does. We seem to have lost touch with each other lately. Even after five years there still seem to be misunderstandings. “

“There will always be misunderstandings. The investigation will have made things worse.”

“I suppose so. I wonder …”

She broke off. She had been going to explain. The woman was so easy to talk to. She would have to be more careful.

“Yes?” Molly asked.

“Oh nothing,” she said. “Would you like some tea? John and George will be coming in for some soon, I expect.”

The men did come in then. The afternoon was a quiet time for ringing. Most of the migrant birds came through in the early morning. John was asking George’s opinion of a paper he was preparing on seabird passage. George made a number of suggestions and John was excited. He wanted to go, right away, to look up the references in the books. Elizabeth said that she would go to rest for a while, and went to the flat. Molly and George were left alone in the kitchen.

“I don’t think that Elizabeth has a lover,” Molly said. George found the term old-fashioned, amusing, but let Molly continue. “ I think she’s hiding something from John, though.”

“Do you? Any idea what it might be?”

She shook her head.

“I want to go to have another look at the Wendy House,” George said. “I’ve still got the key. I only went in, once before, to get an idea of the place. I didn’t do a proper search. There were some papers, some correspondence. There may be something which would give us a clue to Charlie’s interest in the family business. It seems that Paul Derbyshire has already found whatever Charlie had which frightened him, but there may still be something there.”