I don’t know how long I work for. It’s late in the afternoon judging by the grey tone the sky has taken on, but I jump so much when Noel clears his throat that I nearly take out half the holly bushes with the scythe.

‘Well, aren’t you a regular Poldark?’

‘Oh ha ha, I hadn’t thought about that once.’ I stop and swipe an arm across my forehead again. My hair’s falling down despite already putting it up again twice. How many times in one day can you look an absolute mess in front of one of the hottest men you’ve ever seen?

He flips a bottle of water in his hand and holds it out to me. ‘Second rule of farming: dehydration isn’t fun. Bring a bottle of water every time, even at this time of year. This work is hard and I wouldn’t mind betting that you aren’t used to it.’

Is it that obvious? ‘Actually, I do plenty of scything and digging at home. You barely see me indoors for all the scything and digging I do.’

‘That’ll be why you asked me if The Grim Reaper had left his “thingy” behind when you saw it in the barn?’

I glare at him. ‘I was winding you up. I knew it was a scythe.’

‘From Poldark?’

I huff and he nods towards the bare soil in front of me. ‘Got to admit I’m impressed.’

I can’t hear any sarcasm in his tone, and I wait for him to follow up with a snarky comment, but he doesn’t. I look around at the patch I’ve cleared. It isn’t a lot, but it’s a start. And I feel better for it. For actually getting out and getting my hands dirty. Literally. I pull off the gloves and look down at my nails. Three are broken and all of them have got mud ingrained underneath them, even through the gloves.

‘The roof’s done temporarily,’ he says. ‘But it’s not going to hold up under a storm, and there are a few due this winter. All I’ve done is nail felt across the broken bits. You need to get onto that builder as soon as you can.’

‘I know.’ The roof is already on my endless list of things that need repairing or replacing. ‘But I have to pay the workers and fork out for insurance. The roof can wait. Opening this place in December can’t.’

‘I agree, but living in a warm, dry house is also important. But your priorities are admirable. I thought you’d be all about the cosy home comforts and the trees would be an afterthought.’

I’m sure there’s an insult in there somewhere. It’s no secret that he thinks very little of me, but he doesn’t sound insulting. ‘Thanks for everything you’ve done, Noel.’