He shrugs. ‘There was talk, that’s all. Some people thought there was a bit more to it. The boy’s mother was a sweet, pretty little thing. Her husband always half-cooked. A bit of a brute. Kept her in poverty. People didn’t see her for months at a time. And the little boy had a look about him, if you see what I mean. They say it was hard to see any of the father in him at all.’

I light a cigarette and stand looking out towards the fields, the line of fells looming dark against the sky. The sun is going down now. The first signs of autumn in the air. I can never get used to the emptiness. I don’t quite know what to do with myself. If I could get May out of here and into town things would be better. All the voices from inside. Jimmy’s sister going for it, playing Daisy, Daisy on the old honky-tonk. I don’t feel like singing.

And then she’s next to me. May. She’s here like a bloody dream.

‘Look at you,’ I say like an idiot, ‘you’re all covered in mud.’

Her shoes are caked in it. Her stockings spotted right up to the hemline.

‘I got a bit lost in the fields.’

‘What are you doing walking around here in the dark?’

‘I wanted some fresh air. And it was such a nice evening. I walked and walked and then I was by the crossroads. I thought I may as well pop along and see you.’

I take a breath. I want to pinch myself. Her face is all flushed. The air has done her good. She doesn’t seem angry at all.

‘Thought you’d be glad to see the back of me after today.’ I drop the cig and crush it into the dirt.

She shakes her head and leans against the wall. Her shoulder against my shoulder.

‘Is your mum any better?’

‘She’s asleep anyway.’

‘What was it?’

‘Gallbladder. She doesn’t like doctors. It comes on suddenly sometimes.’

‘Right.’