“I’d better walk up to Sandwick with you,” he said, trying to be friendly again. She smiled at him, grateful for his effort.

“No,” she said. “ Will is coming here to collect me.”

“Take care, then.”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “No one’s going to shoot at me.”

Chapter Thirteen

George could not understand why Jonathan was so obsessed with catching the swans. The whole thing seemed to him to be a nightmare. He had expected that Jonathan would have used the time while George was at the post office, to talk to Sylvia. He had thought that they would have had a quiet meal together, that they might have reached some understanding about leaving Kinness. But when he returned to the school house from Sandwick, Jonathan was frantically gathering rings and pliers ready for the expedition and Sylvia was nowhere to be seen.

“We’ll get them,” Jonathan said. “Tonight, we’ll get them.”

“Why the rush? Why tonight?” He had other things to discuss with Jonathan.

“There’s no moon,” Jonathan said, “and the birds could go at any time. Will and the Stennet girl are coming, too.”

“I know. Where’s Sylvia?”

“She’s coming with us. She’s just gone to get ready. We were waiting until you came back to eat.”

“I thought you might want to be alone.”

“No need for that,” Jonathan said with forced heartiness. “ We always like company.”

You’re frightened to be alone with her, George thought. You’re frightened of what she might say to you. And she’s trying to avoid it, too.

“I wanted to ask you about one of your pupils,” George said, quickly, wanting to avoid talking in front of Sylvia. “ It’s Elspeth’s son.”

“Yes?” Jonathan was packing the ringing equipment into a small rucksack and George had only half his attention.

“What surname does he use at school?”

“Dance. I think I’ve got the father’s name somewhere, but I can’t remeber what it is. Elspeth said that she’d taken her maiden name again as soon as she’d separated and she’d prefer it used at school. I couldn’t see any problem.”

“Did you ever meet the father?”

“Only at the wedding. Elspeth came back occasionally on holiday but she only brought the boy.”

“They were married on the island?”

“No. They had a quiet wedding in Glasgow. Then we heard that the baby had arrived not very long after.”

“Has Ben ever mentioned his father in school?”

“No. I heard the other kids asking once in the playground where his dad was and what he did. He said that his dad was dead. He seems to have stuck to that story.”

“Isn’t he rather young to have maintained a lie like that?”

“I don’t think so. He’s a very bright child, very mature for his age. But perhaps Elspeth has told him that his father is dead and he believes her.”