At lunchtime they all congregated at a scarred oak table for a buffet lunch of salads and large glasses of home-made elderflower cordial. Hannah made a mental note to text her sister to thank her for the tip about comfortable shoes. Being on your feet for a whole morning certainly took its toll. Goodness only knows what her poor tootsies would feel like by the end of the week – and her shoulders were killing her from all that kneading.

‘Right. Chores,’ announced Adrienne as they were eating. ‘I’ll allocate them now but if at the end of the week you want to try something else, just let me know. It’s good if you can try everything while you’re here. Hannah, you’ll be on feeding the chickens and collecting the eggs. Meredith, you’ll be helping Mairead harvest and pick the fruit and vegetables for dinner. Jason, you’ll be feeding the pigs. Alan, if you could help bring in the cows – easy job, it’s just a question of opening the gates. They know the way. Fliss, if you can help Franklin in the greenhouse, opening up and closing the windows and operating the sprinkler system. Izzy, you’ll be in the herb garden collecting herbs in the mornings and using the dehydrator to dry herbs, mushrooms, and chillies.’

‘Wow, that sounds interesting,’ said Izzy, with an enthusiastic grin. ‘Izzy The Dehydrator – better than The Terminator.’ Hannah and Meredith giggled while Jason muttered under his breath. ‘Bit of a cheek getting us to do the work.’

Fliss nodded her head, her mouth curving downwards in disgruntlement, although she didn’t acknowledge him. Hannah hid a smile. Fliss didn’t want to be seen to be agreeing with Jason.

Adrienne looked at him over the top of her glass, taking a slow sip before saying with her usual serenity. ‘It’s important to understand the relationship we have to the land and our food. When you see where things come from, you’ll have more appreciation.’

‘Hmmph,’ replied Jason, ducking his head and applying himself to a mound of potato salad on his plate.

‘This salad is amazing,’ said Meredith, who’d already assumed the role of peacekeeper. ‘What leaves are these and the little flowers? They’re delicious.’

‘The flowers are from white and blue borage. And there’s golden marjoram and chervil in among the lambs lettuce and watercress.’

Hannah’s head buzzed. There was so much to learn. She needed a notebook to write all this stuff down.

As if by magic, Adrienne rose from the table and crossed to one of the cupboards on the side.

‘I completely forgot. Does anyone want a notebook and pencil?’ she asked as she pulled out a stack of spiral-bound notebooks in the green livery of the cookery school, along with a handful of matching pencils. Before Hannah could say a word, she handed her one of each.