When she went upstairs she found him kneeling on the floor just inside the door, finishing sealing the floorboards. He beamed at her. ‘One minute and I’m done. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? I hope you haven’t come empty-handed. I think I forgot to have my lunch.’

‘You didn’t come back to the house for it, that’s for sure, so it’s a good thing I brought you something to eat and drink. Do you have time for a break now? It’s cold but we could sit on that old bench outside the kitchen. It looks to be a sunny, sheltered spot.’

He stood up, dusting down his overalls. ‘I’m ravenous, so lay on, Macduff.’

She finished the quotation, ‘And damned be him who first cries “Hold! Enough!”’

‘You’re one of the few people I’ve met who says that correctly, Nell, my love. Most say “Lead on, Macduff!” and that makes me wince.’

‘I used to read a lot when the boys were little. I didn’t think you were an avid reader, though, Angus.’

‘Not usually of fiction or poetry, but I do have an excellent memory for whatever I’ve read.’

When they were sitting on the bench she dipped into her bag of food and passed him a thermal mug of coffee, waiting till he’d had a big swig to hand him a sandwich.

‘You’re a lifesaver, my love.’

‘I did leave you some coffee-making equipment in Number 2.’

He shrugged. ‘I keep forgetting.’

She tried to work out how to tell him about the caller and his expression instantly turned serious. ‘What’s happened now? Just tell me straight out.’

‘I had an anonymous phone call warning me not to block business initiatives in the town if I valued my safety.’

‘What did you do?’

‘Told him to sod off and said I’d taken self-defence courses.’

‘And have you?’

‘Oh, yes. And used the moves a couple of times, too, the first one against my husband when he hit me.’

‘Did you hurt him?’

‘Gave him a nasty twinge where it hurts a man most.’

He chuckled, then turned serious. ‘Go on.’

‘I wasn’t going to say anything about the call till this evening, but one of our friendly ghosts warned me that you were in danger too and I should tell you straight away.’

They had both stopped eating.

He sighed. ‘I’d better set up a security system for Saffron Lane after I’ve done the floors in here. In the meantime I’ll make sure that anyone opening a door after dark in any of the houses sets off a very loud siren. I have some bits and pieces I can put together temporarily.’

‘Good. On a happier note, the applications are coming in for the residencies. We’ll go through those this evening. The sooner we get tenants living here, the safer the properties will be. Numbers 2 and 3 are just about ready, aren’t they?’

‘Yes.’ He finished his sandwich and stood up. ‘You go back to the house now. I’ll be up in a couple of hours.’