Once he had negotiated the traffic near the station, and reached a less busy road, Mr. Gopnik began to tell Mrs. Sugden about the shop’s advantages. It was near the miners’ cottages and the mill. There wasn’t another grocery shop for three miles. Trade was brisk. She and her granddaughter would like the accommodation, and so on. He asked what she did now, and what interested her in taking on a shop.

Mrs. Sugden once told Harriet that it was better to tell as much truth as you could, because lies are forgettable. “I’m a housekeeper, but I want my independence.”

Harriet put her face against Sergeant’s neck so she could smother her laughter. No one was more independent than Mrs. Sugden. If Mrs. Sugden left, Harriet and her auntie wouldn’t know what to do. There would be no one there to tell them.

After a longish drive, they reached Silver Street. They passed a row of cottages with well-tended gardens. The driver stopped the car beyond the last cottage, outside an odd-looking building that stood all on its own. “It was allus a shop, being the end house in a row what was demolished,” Mr. Gopnik explained. “It’s spacious. It’s airy. It’s a little gold mine.”

“So you said.”

“It has a garden at the back as would make a town allotment shrivel in shame. You could grow your own veg. Rhubarb puts in an appearance of its own accord and so do spuds.”

Harriet looked through the shop window at rows of shelves with tins and jars. He unlocked the door. “I won’t stand in the way of you taking your own good look round. How long do you need?”

“As long as you like,” Mrs. Sugden said. “Give us an hour or more. We’ve brought us lunch. I want to stroll about, get the lie of the land and the feel of the place.”

He seemed pleased at this. “That suits me very well, Mrs. Sugden. I have another call to make.” He looked at his watch. “I’ll come back for you. If you think of any questions whatsoever, stock, turnover, anything at all, you only have to ask.”

Harriet watched the car drive away. Sergeant Dog gave a little whimper. He liked to travel with a herd and was sorry to see a person leave.

“Where is Mr. Gopnik going?” Harriet asked.

Mrs. Sugden shook her head sadly. “Where do you think?”

“I don’t know.”

“He hasn’t had a drink since he woke this morning. He’s desperate.”

“I thought he must be a drinker by his face and his nose.”

“Come on then, let’s look inside.”