She was in the kitchen, the only living room of the cottage. It looked empty, bleak and cold. Jenifer Drannock had never aspired to being an efficient housewife and the stark surroundings looked even more untidy and dusty than Kerensa remembered. The room smelled of dampness and stale food. Kerensa rubbed at the top of her arms under her cloak, wistfully noting the cheerless fire sputtering in the hearth, thinking that the vast moorlands of Lancavel Downs in deep winter were more hospitable than this.

With her eyes on a poker and the intention of raking among the charred sticks of driftwood to encourage a blaze, Kerensa stepped over a scattered heap of soiled laundry. She jumped back as a large scruffy grey cat leaped off the back of a chair and hissed at her before its paws hit the cold unplanched floor. The cat glared at her, making her feel even more of an intruder, then made its way to the door with its half-chewed-off tail up in the air. It was then that Kerensa saw the still figure of Jenifer Drannock sitting to the side of the door on a small settle. She was wearing ill-fitting black clothes borrowed from the neighbours and against the dark wood of the high-backed settle only her hands and face were clearly visible. The blank expression on her haggard white face made her seem like a creature from another world.

‘Jenifer!’ Kerensa blurted out, guilt rushing to her cheeks. ‘I… I hope you don’t mind me walking in like this.’

‘Not at all, my dear,’ Jenifer replied, her voice dry and vacant. ‘It is good of you to come. If you can stay, sit yourself down – if you can find a clean enough chair.’ She waved a weary hand in no particular direction. ‘I’m sorry, I just haven’t had the heart…’

‘I understand,’ Kerensa said gently. ‘Would you like me to tidy up a few things for you?’ She glanced at the rickety table with its remains of several sparse and unpalatable meals.

‘No, it’s all right, my dear, thank you. Ruth and Esther King were here a short time ago. They’re coming back when they’ve settled their mother, and seen to Paul. They’ll sort out all this mess between them. I feel so sorry for them, losing so many of their family. They’ll be kept busy here for quite a while… take their minds off the tragedy. You can cheer up that fire if you like, you’re shivering in those wet things. People have been kind, they’ve brought us some extra logs. Pile them on and get warmed through. Here,’ Jenifer held out a well-used knitted blanket made up of a few squares. ‘Take off your hat and cloak and put this round your shoulders. It’s not very big but it will cover a little bit of a thing like you.’