They made their way unsteadily down the rough road from Feizor and then onto the better road that led back down Buckhaw Brow into Giggleswick and Settle. Madge laughed and screamed at every corner, as James tried to counterbalance the weight behind him, stopping at the top of the brow of the hill and looking down upon the slate roofs of the houses of Settle in the valley below.

‘Go on – what have we stopped for? Take me down, I dare you!’ Madge laughed and urged him on as she pulled her long, knotted scarf around her neck and checked her hair. ‘Are you frightened that we might be seen? Or is it that the bike’s too big for you?’ She giggled, squeezing him tight.

‘No, it’s just that I shouldn’t be on it with you. The bike’s new to me. And I worry what people will think of you, if they see us together.’ James put both of his feet on the ground and steadied the two of them.

‘There’s no one about. Look, you can see the road is clear almost until Settle. People are eventually going to know about us anyway, if your promise to leave Isabelle for me is true,’ she cried. ‘Go on, keep driving, then turn around and take me back home. I’ll have had my thrills for the day by then.’ Madge kissed him on the ear and hugged him close. ‘Please,’ she whispered. ‘You know I love you.’

James breathed in deeply. Despite his better judgement, he fired the engine up and started down the hill. Madge screamed with delight and her scarf flew like a pennant behind her. The road dipped and the wind lessened, making the scarf fly low and limp, until it dragged downwards near the back-wheel sprocket and chain. She paid it no heed as the bike built up speed and she screamed with excitement. But all too quickly her screams of joy turned to screams of panic, as the scarf became entwined in the motorcycle’s chain and back wheel, pulling at Madge’s neck and making her unable to breathe. The scarf became more and more entwined as the motorbike picked up speed and dragged her from behind James. She tried to yell and scream and she clawed at James to save her, as she and the bike flew across the road, unseating James and leaving Madge, still and unbreathing, on the stony road of Buckhaw Brow. Battered and bleeding and with a broken neck, her body was lifeless. The scarf was still entwined in the gears of the motorbike, while its wheels continued to turn.