‘What am I going to tell Squire Marshall?’

‘I’ll go and see him,’ Kate said airily. ‘He likes me – he’ll not shout at me.’

‘Oh no you won’t,’ Danny said swiftly. ‘I aren’t hiding behind a woman’s skirts – not even to save me job!’

It was two hours before the Squire’s motor car was standing upright on the road once more. The two horses had pulled it from the dyke once Kate’s stepfather had attached ropes to the front axle. Now they were all standing in the lane viewing the damage while the two horses champed lazily on the grass verge.

‘Whatever were you doing, Danny?’ Jonathan was asking.

Kate and Danny exchanged a glance and Kate opened her mouth to explain, but before she could speak Danny said, ‘I wasn’t concentrating – me nearside wheels hit the verge and I couldn’t seem to steer back on to the lane and afore I knew it – I was in the dyke.’

‘Perhaps the steering’s gone.’ Jonathan was on his knees in front of the vehicle, bending down to look underneath, his head almost touching the ground as he peered between the front wheels. ‘If that’s the case, then it’s not your fault.’

‘No such luck,’ Danny muttered, but only loud enough for Kate to hear and understand.

Jonathan was reaching underneath the car. ‘Looks to me like the axle’s bent, that’s all.’

‘That’s all!’ Danny echoed wryly. ‘It’s bad enough.’

Her stepfather was levering himself to his feet. ‘See the Squire, Danny, and explain what happened. Tell him I can put it right if he likes.’

Kate saw the hope in Danny’s eyes. ‘Can you really, Mester?’

She watched the exchange between Danny and her stepfather. The latter was nodding. ‘I should be able to – I may need to get some parts, but it shouldn’t be too big a job. Come on now, Danny, you get in and steer, and we’ll pull it back to Brumbys’ Farm.’

As dusk crept over the flat fields, Kate was still waiting for Danny to come back from the Grange. Watching from a bedroom window which faced westwards, she could see the tall chimneys of the Squire’s home surrounded by trees. At last she saw a figure walking along the road leading from the Grange back towards the coast road. Lightly she ran down stairs, through the living room and into the kitchen. She paused in the doorway and held her breath. Her mother was bending over the range. Quietly, Kate edged her way towards the door leading into the back scullery, but her mother glanced up and saw her.

‘And where do you think you’re off to at this time of night, Missy?’

‘Danny’s just coming back from the Grange. I want to know what the Squire said.’ And without waiting for her mother’s permission she ran out of the back door.