‘How do you know? Sure, she had her memories. “She lives with her memories,” people say. I hear them all the time. How d’you know she liked her memories? People don’t necessarily like memories. Christ!’ Matilda cried, ‘of course they don’t. Old people are like empty paper bags. You blew yours up, gave it a bang, and pop, that was the lot, her lot anyway.’

‘And yours?’

‘You’ve interfered.’ Matilda pulled on her espadrilles. ‘I’d better stop talking and go to the village, buy the papers, cash a cheque, do some shopping.’

‘Very practical all of a sudden.’

‘I am practical. Keep out of sight, won’t you? I’ll leave your dog with you. Don’t answer the phone.’

‘A loss to the W.I.’

‘They don’t think so.’

‘Show me the house before you go.’ Hugh stood up, towering above Matilda. ‘You are the same height as my mother.’

‘I don’t want to think about her any more. I’ll show you round.’ She led the way. ‘Here, in this front room if taken unawares you can hide in here or here. They are the old fireplaces, cupboards now for logs for that.’ She gestured to a pot-bellied stove in the middle of the room. ‘You can get right up the chimneys to the roof. Claud did once. He got filthy.’ Hugh stooped and went into one of the cupboards. ‘Can you stand upright? You are taller than Claud.’

‘Yes.’

‘Claud once locked Anabel in one and Louise in the other and went out for the day.’

‘How did they get out?’

‘Mr Jones heard their screams. He was passing, luckily for them. You’ve seen the kitchen and scullery, come upstairs. Mr Jones is my only neighbour. No bother. If you see anyone coming you can hide in those cupboards or in the one in my room, it’s huge. Anyway I always know when someone is coming, Gus honks.’

‘But I thought –’

‘Oh God!’ Matilda’s eyes filled. ‘I’d forgotten. How could I? He’s not here, he’s climbing onto all those geese, covering them, whatever it’s called, or is that only for horses?’

‘I don’t know. I believe geese copulate.’

‘I hope he enjoys it. He’s had a sexually deprived life.’

‘I shall keep my ears alert.’

‘Yes, do that.’

‘You do worry about your goose.’

‘Gander. Yes I do, of course I worry. If you’d seen him in that sack driving away –’

‘The cupboard upstairs.’

‘Oh yes.’ She led the way upstairs to the room from which he’d heard snores reverberate. ‘Here’s the cupboard. It’s deep, it goes on for miles behind those clothes.’ She pushed an open palm against hangers. ‘Behind these there’s lots of room. It’s L-shaped, turns to the right, almost another little room.’

Hugh peered in. ‘What’s that?’