‘Some pegs for your ma, then?’ She tugged on his sleeve.

‘Sorry, no money.’ Ethan hung his head.

‘Good luck to ya anyway.’ The young girl moved on to her next victim, and both Ethan and Rosie watched her as she wove her way through the crowds. Her long colourful skirt swayed and her bracelets jangled as she cleared a passage away from them, watched by the visitors to Appleby.

‘Sorry, Rosie. I would have bought you some heather, but we both need whatever money we’ve got.’

‘It doesn’t matter, Ethan – we can pick our own heather. I’ve never seen anywhere so busy. There’s so many people, and they are all selling something or riding horses. You can’t walk safely along the street because of the horses racing up and down.’

‘It’s called “flashing”, and they are riding them to the places I’ve heard my father talking about, called Flashing Lane and Long Marton Road. It’s where all the gypsy men show off their horses by riding them up and down the lane to put them through their paces, and to show their best points before selling them. We can go there, if you want; or down into the village to watch the horses being washed down at a place called “the Sands”, which is just under the main bridge that spans the River Eden.’ Ethan waited as Rosie made up her mind.

‘Can we go and see the horse being washed? I don’t want to go near the racing horses. It looks dangerous, and there are so many people. I don’t want to offend you, Ethan, but some look like they can’t be trusted.’ Rosie had never seen such a raggle-taggle collection of people, and she was beginning to regret agreeing to spend the day at Appleby Horse Fair.

‘They are only travelling folk, Rosie. They love their horses and country ways. You’d look a bit worse for wear, if you didn’t know where you were going to rest your head from one night to the next and were out in all weathers. Besides, somewhere in these people will be my relations, so they can’t be that different from me.’ Ethan looked at the fear on Rosie’s face. ‘Here, put your arm through mine, I’ll look after you.’