At the sale she was a discriminating customer. She hunted through a pile of clothes for a real bargain, checking every seam and hem, feeling the quality of the cloth between thumb and fingers. She realized, as she held the cheap cloth to her cheek, that she was frightened.

James heard the plane and at Melissa’s insistence he telephoned Kenneth Dance to find out who had arrived on the island.

“It’s the Woollie Man,” he said, expecting her not to be interested. He had gone to the sale in the past, but she had not seemed to like the things he had chosen to bring home for her.

“Shall we go?” she asked. He was astounded. Usually a panic attack affected her for weeks. But since George Palmer-Jones had left them alone she seemed altogether stronger, more determined. It was as if she had something to fight for.

“Shall we go?” she repeated. “I would like to.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. We’ll show them.”

He did not understand. He was pleased by the change in her, but it worried him, too. It was all too sudden. Everyone on Kinness was frightened of change.

“We’ll go, then,” he said, “but if you want to leave the hall, you must say.”

“I won’t show you up.”

He could not remember the last time they had walked out together, arm in arm in the sunshine. He felt that it should have been a Sunday. Kinness couples often walked out like that on Sunday afternoons when he and Melissa had stayed in the house. He supposed that there was work he should be doing in the croft, but this was more important. He could feel her body close to his as they walked. With every step she swayed against him and the sharp bone of her hip touched his leg. The closeness made him feel breathless, like a young boy out with a girl for the first time.

When they approached the hall, her arm tightened on his, but she did not hesitate.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll go in then?”

“Yes.”

He held the door open and she walked ahead of him into the hall. Her back was very straight. People turned towards her, smiling. She smiled and smiled all morning and thought how clever she was to keep it up. Because she knew that she had nothing to smile about.

Elspeth did not want to go to the sale, but her parents persuaded her.

“There’ll be nothing worth buying there,” she said, knowing that it was only an excuse.

“If you’re staying on here for a while, Ben will need more things for school,” her mother said. “ Hard-wearing things. Island wool’s good for Sunday best but it doesn’t wear well.”

“Do you want me out, then?” Elspeth knew that she was overreacting. She wanted to cry. “ I know that you’re ashamed of me, too.”

“That’s foolish,” her father said gently. “You stay until you want to go. We want you here.”