‘I could have told you that,’ I said.

‘Yes and, anyway, she’s had a really rough time and…’ He trailed off. ‘A while ago, over a year ago, she and me got together,’ he said, his grammar reminding me painfully how young he was. ‘And, anyway, I wasn’t that into her, and stuff –well, I was, I just didn’t want us to share a yurt, I wanted to be friends. It doesn’t work having relationships with other eco-villagers, and I didn’t want the others to know. But she went crazy, and apparently she reported the next day that she’d been assaulted, sexually assaulted, which was rubbish, but when the police came round to Spodden’s Hatch she’d completely changed her story and hinted to the police that it wasn’t me, it was Colin Watts, and it wasn’t assault, it was rape.’

‘That explains the line in her poem,’ I breathed, ‘about men falling in love before, women after.’

‘Whatever,’ said Jesse Marlon.

A light bulb popped in my head. ‘Noah,’ I said slowly.

‘Yes,’ said Jesse Marlon.

‘So Noah’s your son and one day he will…’ Jesse Marlon gazed into the distance, as if into his future, looking noble, as I joined the dots.

‘One day, Noah will be the tenant of Godminster Hall,’ I finished. ‘In fact, the owner.’

‘Well, until Noah has a son of his own,’ said Jesse Marlon.

So, I thought as I made my way back towards the throng, leaving Jesse Marlon. The father of Noah is Jesse Marlon. And I didn’t think for a moment that Jesse Marlon had raped Sophy. Not for a moment. Though Jesse Marlon is… adventurous, sexually, what he was guilty of was not falling in love with Sophy Mills, the second she fell for him, and sleeping with her when he had no prior feelings for her.

Well. It has happened before, and it will certainly happen again. But why did she ring Lulu about it? And rat on Ceci and Spike? I sit on the bed, upstairs where it’s quiet and peaceful, away from the madding wedding. Perhaps… when Sophy saw Jesse Marlon carrying on with me, in front of her and Noah’s noses, she took her revenge by telling Lulu and pinning the rape on him, in the hope that Ned and Lulu would disown him and he would stay in Spodden’s Hatch for ever, and maybe, even, share in Noah’s upbringing.

Not that I will ever find out.