‘A will? I didn’t know he had any relatives.’ Ninni was curious. Agnar had been their only neighbour on the north side of the island.

‘Nobody knows who’s in the will except the lawyers Agnar used to set it up. They’re not talking to us, only to say they are looking for relatives. Which is a lot of malarkey. Agnar didn’t have any family left. I told them that but they still need to earn their fees, of course. Leeches, the lot of them.’

Agnar was the cranky farmer who had died just after the New Year. He’d also been the largest landowner on the island. He’d owned the ground that most of their houses were built on.

‘I knew he wasn’t well,’ Alma said, shaking her head. ‘He refused any help. He just became more and more of a recluse. I tried to get him to see a doctor. He looked so frail towards the end. But you know how they are, these men, stubborn as mules and half as good-looking.’

‘I remember him being so sweet to me when I was little, before he started isolating himself. I thought he was related to you?’

‘No, not at all. We moved here after the war when I was four years old. Agnar was born in 1952 and such a surprise to his parents.’ Alma laughed a little. ‘I think they had given up hope of getting any children by then. And what makes it so sad is that Agnar was the last one in his family. We all wonder what will happen to the farm and the land when those lawyers give up this futile search for a relative. That bastard Haldorsen called in just a few days after the funeral, wanted us to support him in buying Agnar’s land. He thinks he can just waltz in and get his dirty hands on our island.’

‘Pappa said no.’ Ninni knew her father had received the same offer.

Alma pulled a face. ‘We all said no, of course. Again.’

‘What will happen if they don’t find any family?’ Ninni knew Haldorsen. He had tried more than once to buy their property. Her father always turned him down.

‘If that happens, the farm goes to the state and they will sell it on the open market, with no regard to the rest of us. Nobody wants Haldorsen getting his greedy claws into the island. Jens is looking through the old church records to see if we can find a relative. I wish Agnar was related to me or to Jens. We could have made a claim,’ Alma said.

‘I’ll ask Pappa. Maybe we are related to him. You never know. Our family has been here for a very long time,’ Ninni said before stuffing the last piece of bun in her mouth.

‘I hope that’s true. Haldorsen would have to give up then. Your dad would never sell,’ Alma said and laughed.

‘Neither would I.’ Ninni got up from the chair. ‘I have to go. Frikk hasn’t been fed properly all day. He’ll eat me if he has to wait much longer.’