‘Oh, Ethan, she’s way above us. It’s Miss Rosie you are talking about, Master Archie’s granddaughter. She’s not for the likes of us.’ Mazy looked at her son and sat back in her chair, taking in the news. ‘Your father will be saying just the same. He’ll be going mad, you know he will, despite what Master Danny says. And you say the Atkinsons are alright about it? I just can’t believe that. You are a grand, lovely lad, but you can’t keep Rosie in the lifestyle she’s used to – we have nothing.’ Mazy sat back and looked at her son, taking in his news and remembering all the times the Atkinson and Fox children had been part of Ethan’s life and realizing that perhaps the inevitable had happened. He’d always thought a lot of Rosie and was better off loving Rosie than Jane, who was way out of his reach, and Mrs Fox would not even be happy if he so much as looked at her.

‘I’m sorry, but we do love one another,’ said Ethan, without hearing the kitchen door open and his father step in.

‘Love! What do you know about love, lad?’ Jethro stepped in and stood in front of his son. ‘You only bloody hurt folk – not showing your face to us for weeks on end. Making your mother cry of a night and making her wonder whether you were dead or alive. And all for some slip of a lass that you should not be looking at, let alone thinking you are in love with. I thought you’d have learned your lesson after I gave you that braying, but no, you’ve brought more bother to our door.’ Jethro stood in front of his son, while Mazy pulled on his arm to try and hold him back from hitting their son.

‘Leave him be, Jethro, don’t you hurt our lad,’ she shouted.

‘I’ll not bloody hurt him. Danny Atkinson has warned me off him. But he does deserve his arse being kicked, with him thinking himself something that he isn’t and setting his cap at Rosie Atkinson. He should know his bloody place,’ Jethro snarled.