“I don’t think very much happened. He hung around her all summer. He was always trying to find excuses to get her on her own, but it’s not easy on a place as small as this, and he just made a fool of himself. I don’t think she was really interested. She liked the admiration but she didn’t take him seriously. You can’t blame her. She was used to a more exciting life than this.”

“You mean that all this fuss has been over one incident three months ago?”

“As far as I know. Since then Sylvia’s been flirting with Alec just to annoy Maggie.”

“How has Maggie reacted to it?”

“At first she just ignored him. She thought he was all talk and no action. It’s happened before. He’s disappeared up to Ellie’s Head after a dance with a pretty young woman several times, but they’ve always been visitors to the island, so it never mattered so much. More recently I think all the gossip has been getting her down.”

“And Jonathan? Was he similarly tolerant?”

“He seemed to be. He knows that Sylvia isn’t happy here.”

George was disappointed. He had expected there to be something more. A real motive for murder. But he showed no disappointment.

“Did you notice when Mary left the hall on the night of the party?” he asked.

“No. I was playing guitar for the band. She wasn’t around in the interval.”

“What did you do in the interval?”

“I had a drink and something to eat.”

George could remember seeing him, lounging against the wall, watching the rest of the crowd with a detached, rather superior air.

“Did you notice if anyone was away for a long time before or during the interval?”

“No. I didn’t notice.”

No, George thought, you were busy wondering what people were thinking of you.

They sat in silence again watching the short-toed lark in the field. Each spike of stubble was hard and clear in the sunshine. All the colours on the bird were very bright. The hall was full now. There was no one else outside and it was very quiet.

“It must be something else,” George said, almost to himself. “There must be another secret. You don’t know what it can be?”

“No.”