‘Was the squire involved in smuggling then?’

‘He didn’t call it smuggling. According to him we were just running errands to the Continent and back.’

‘You could have jumped ship.’

‘And starved to death in the streets of London or wherever I happened to land? I was young and to be honest I found it exciting. I’m not a saint like Nick.’

‘I thought you were his friend.’

‘Nick is well respected and he’ll devote his life to the village, just like his father. Maybe I take after mine and I’m a wrong ’un through and through.’

‘I don’t believe that for a moment, but you don’t have to do this any longer. You’re not working for the squire now. He can’t harm you ever again and he relented at the last and tried to make reparation for the wrongs he’d done you and your mother.’

‘That’s true, but I’m not sure I want to inherit his fortune. The man was a villain.’

‘The Lazy Jane belongs to you now, and everything the squire had is yours too. You could settle in the manor house and live a life of ease.’

Jay shrugged tiredly. ‘I suppose I could, but I’m not sure that a living ashore would suit me. Maybe I’m a born wanderer. Anyway, I need sleep, and you must eat.’

She gazed at the food spread out on the table, realising that she was extremely hungry. She had not eaten since noon the previous day and her stomach growled at the sight of bread, butter and a pot of what looked like strawberry jam. A baked ham and a bowl of apples completed the spread.

‘Help yourself, and if there’s anything else you want just ask Guppy.’ He stood up and made for the doorway, but Daisy reached out and caught him by the sleeve.

‘Just a minute. Are we really going to Little Creek?’

‘Last night while I was at the helm I had plenty of time to think, and you were right. It’s time I went home to see my family, especially now that the old man is no longer there to cause trouble. We’re bound for Little Creek, and if the trains are still running you’ll be back in London by this evening.’

He left the saloon before she had a chance to question him further. Somehow the thought of returning to Little Creek was more attractive than facing the reality of living in Mrs Wood’s lodging house and working twelve-hour shifts at the hospital. She loved her patients and she was deeply interested in the causes and treatment of all manner of ailments, but her experience of nursing the desperately ill in the summer had left her eager to do more than simply washing out bedpans and changing sheets. The news that Mrs Garrett Anderson had recently qualified to practise medicine against all odds had circulated around the hospital, and had been received with a degree of cynicism by many of the senior doctors. But the first barrier was down and maybe, in the not-too-distant future, women would be admitted to medical schools in England. In the meantime Daisy was determined that the lack of opportunity would not prevent her from doing what she could to alleviate the suffering of others, even if it meant taking up a subordinate position to her brother and Nick.