‘You mean because of my bad leg, I suppose,’ said Dick. ‘Actually, it’s really no problem. I twisted my knee falling down some stairs, which slightly damaged my cruciate tendon, but it’s not serious. I’m not letting 167it prevent me from following my usual routines.’

‘Oh good,’ said Thea weakly. She had never heard of a cruciate tendon.

‘But he doesn’t climb over stiles if he can help it,’ said the second man, with a quick smile. ‘Permit me to introduce us. This is Richard and I’m Edward. Jackson, in both cases.’

‘Pleased to meet you,’ said Thea, wondering whether to extend a hand. ‘I’m Thea Slocombe.’

Richard appeared to be gradually relaxing his decidedly stiff manner. ‘You’re all right, are you?’ he asked her. ‘After what happened? I must say I’m surprised to see you still here.’

‘Must have nerves of steel,’ said Edward, with a laugh that sounded as if his own nerves were made of something more flimsy.

‘I’m quite all right,’ said Thea. ‘You’re brothers, then, are you?’

‘That’s right,’ said Richard.

But the other man was still focusing on the image of a lone woman spending nights in a house of death. ‘But surely …’ he stammered. ‘That is − aren’t you at all anxious? I mean … isn’t it a bit …?’

She gave him a moment to recover the use of his tongue, and then smilingly corrected his assumptions. ‘Not really. It’s not the first time, you see. And I’ve got the builders there during the day, and the police are keeping an eye on me. If anything, it’s rather boring. I’ve got all of this week still to go, if we stick to the plan.’

‘And you will, will you? Stick to the plan, I mean?’ 168It was Richard again, rapping out brisk questions as if he had every right to interrogate her. ‘Who made the plan, anyway? Are you a friend of Tabitha’s? She’s a very elusive person, in our experience. Half the local people still haven’t met her.’

‘But you have?’

‘Once,’ he nodded. ‘So – what’s the plan, then?’ he persisted.

‘It depends,’ she shrugged, being instinctively vague. ‘Who knows what’ll happen?’ Both men gazed at her, as if at a rare specimen at a zoo. The likeness between them became more apparent. ‘You both live here in the village, do you?’ she asked, determined to match question for question.

‘Born and bred,’ said Richard. ‘Our grandfather had a farm here originally, but our father sold off most of the land, very unwisely and totally against Mother’s wishes. We’ve only got a small fraction of it left now. But we’ve managed to keep going one way and another.’

‘And they’re buried here in the churchyard, I suppose,’ said Thea, remembering when she had first met him. ‘Your forebears, I mean. Although I don’t remember seeing Jackson on any of the headstones.’

Edward took over, so smoothly that it felt as if the brothers habitually finished each other’s thoughts and spoke for each other. ‘They’re here, right enough. The whole clan, pretty nearly. The occasional youngest son got away, as in most families, but you’ll find us easily enough if you go looking. My grandmother’s people are there, too. In fact, if you delve back far enough, you’ll 169find we’re related to at least half the people buried here.’