‘And don’t sit on the wet sand,’ her mother shouted after her as Kate went through the farm gate and across the lane. She turned back briefly, smiled and waved. She’d never known her mother fuss so much. But then, she realized, she had never been so ill before; always a robust youngster, she had shaken childhood illnesses off quickly.

Kate climbed the dunes through the trees and at the top stood to look across the marsh towards the far dunes and the sea beyond. With a whoop of delight she ran down the slope and began to run across the marsh, delighting in the feel of the spongy turf beneath her feet, the sharp breeze on her cheeks bringing the colour back to them. To her surprise and disgust, her breathing soon became laboured and she was forced to slow down, even to stop for a few moments to regain her breath.

She could no longer run.

She pulled in deep breaths, but it was like trying to breathe in through a feather pillow and there was an ache in her chest. Slowly she threaded her way across the marsh, jumping the meandering streams but having to rest after each exertion. She came to the far dunes and found that she could only climb to the top in three stages, resting twice on the way. But when she gained the beach and saw the sea, it was worth all the effort.

Would she ever run like she used to do? ‘Like the wind’, as Danny used to say with grudging admiration?

Kate walked slowly along the beach. She even felt the cold more now. Hunched into her thick coat, the woollen scarf around her throat and mouth, she trudged miserably back across the marsh towards the cottages at the Point. She knocked on the Elands’ back door and when it opened she found herself enveloped in Beth Eland’s embrace, her face pressed against soft, plump breasts.

‘Oh lovey, it’s so good to see you. How I longed to come and visit you when I heard how ill you was! Ne’er mind, you’re here now. Come in near the fire and let me look at you.’

She drew Kate into her warm kitchen and held her at arm’s length, her soft brown eyes searching Kate’s face. ‘Ya still look pale, Katie. Here, tek ya coat off else ya’ll not feel the benefit when you go out again. Sit down and have some of my scones, fresh out the oven.’

In a moment, Kate was biting into a thickly buttered scone, the crumbs scattering down her pinafore while Beth stood smiling down at her.

Kate looked up at her. ‘Where’s Danny? He’s not been to see me again. He came that once while I was in bed, but he didn’t come no more.’