‘Oh, Martha, come away. I won’t be seen talking to this – this creature!’

‘Quite right, Flo dear. Really, I don’t know what the squire is thinking of.’

They picked up their skirts and with one last glance made as if to turn away in a calculated snub. But in that last glance, Flo had looked Esther up and down properly. She gasped and gripped her sister’s arm.

‘Oh, Martha,’ she squeaked. ‘Do – do you see what she’s wearing? Oh, how could he? How could Sam let her wear one of poor, darling Katharine’s gowns?’ Flo fished in the sleeve of her blouse for a delicate lace handkerchief and held it to her lips, her eyes wide and staring above the frothy white lace. Martha was made of sterner stuff. She merely eyed the old-fashioned gown with distaste.

‘It’s absolutely . . .’ But exactly what, Esther was not to hear for at that moment Tom Willoughby came up behind them and put an arm about the shoulders of the two sisters. ‘Now, now, my dears, making friends. That’s the way,’ and he gave a great bellowing laugh so that his stomach wobbled and his whiskers shook.

‘Oh, really, Thomas. Friends, indeed!’ The two women turned away in disgust, but before he followed them, Tom gave Esther a broad grin and an exaggerated wink. ‘They’ll come around, m’dear, don’t you worry.’

Esther stared after the three of them as they walked away. She wasn’t bothered one way or the other whether they ever ‘came around’, but she was intrigued by something Flo had said.

Just who was Katharine?

Thoughtfully, Esther took her plate and sat down in a corner of the barn.

‘There you are,’ Matthew said and sat down beside her. ‘This is good, ain’t it, Esther?’ he said, his mouth stuffed with food.

‘Mmm,’ she murmured.

‘There’s dancing later. Old Joe usually brings his fiddle and plays for us.’

‘Dancing,’ Esther was startled into replying. ‘I can’t dance!’

‘I’ll show you,’ Matthew said loftily. ‘There’s nothing to it.’

He was indeed right. There was nothing to it – at least not the way these happy folk danced, for no one cared that they all just hopped and jigged about in time to the music. There seemed to be no organized dance steps of any kind. But, Esther had to admit, they all certainly enjoyed themselves. Even Beth was dancing and laughing and seemed to have forgotten her rancour for the moment.

‘Oh, stop, Matthew, do stop. I’m puffed. I can’t dance another step,’ Esther gasped. ‘Really, I can’t. Oooh, I’ve got a stitch in me side.’