The Master caught Jonathan’s eye, tapped his own forehead significantly, and the Hunt began to move off. Ed seemed not to notice their going. His expression became craftier than ever.

‘You’ve got something on your conscience, Ed,’ said Mrs Bradley. ‘Something you haven’t told me.’

‘It come to me, like, when I told ee about the deadly nightshade,’ agreed Ed. He fondled the horse, which was gently nibbling at his shoulder to attract his attention. ‘(All right, then, you old you, you.) Yes, mam, that’s when it come to me. They poor old dogs, mam.’

‘Good heavens, Ed! You saw them being buried!’

‘I did, mam, too an’ all. Mr Tiny and Mr Emming … and Mr Tiny cryin’ all the time like an ’eart-broken gal … they buried them two poor dogs and them two little cats when Will North was over to Camphill on the Christmas shoot.’

‘Will North?’ asked Jonathan, puzzled. ‘How does he come into it?’

‘Of course!’ said Mrs Bradley, looking affectionately at Ed. ‘Will North’s dog cemetery! How completely obvious!’

‘But what an awful risk to take!’ exclaimed Jonathan.

‘Mr Emming, he were again it,’ said Ed, ‘but Mr Tiny, he says as ’ow ’is little dogs and cats be going to lie proper, like ’umans, you see, mam.’

‘Yes, I do see. I do indeed,’ said Mrs Bradley, gazing raptly into Ed’s face. ‘And I can see that you agreed, Ed. How did you come to be there?’

‘Well, tell you the truth, mam, Will North, he don’t go round there very often, but me, I go round and tidy up a bit and say a prayer for the poor old dogs and that, though I doesn’t tell parson what I do. So when they come … Mr Tiny and Mr Emming … I just creep into the bushes, that be all.’

‘Yes, I see. Nothing else, Ed?’

‘Ah, there were one other thing,’ confessed Ed. ‘Mr Emming, he intend to kill Will North with that gun, not me.’

‘I thought so at the time. As you fell into the trench, Will was directly behind you, and therefore in the line of fire. We must be thankful for Mr Emming’s poor marksmanship.’

‘Indeed, yes. It was only turning it all over in my mind afterwards, mam, I knowed what to think. I wouldn’t ’ave done it, not for a bet nor nothing …’

‘Exactly. I acquit you of complicity, Ed. I suppose the bet was that you could tell by the actions of the birds what was going on. Then, if Will got the shot in him, you’d have had to swear it was an accident.’

‘That were it. Now I got my mind cleared …’

‘But still not your conscience, Ed. You’ve been a nuisance. I want you to do something to atone for that.’

‘I don’t intend for to be mixed up in nawthen else no more.’