‘It’s all our land. You weren’t trespassing. Murphy gets his knickers in a twist because the farm here has done so well. He’s a curmudgeon. Way back he put that rickety old fence up as a protest about something. To be honest, Niamh had just been born and was a bit poorly in the hospital. It was the last thing on all our minds and we just let it go. Humoured the daft eejit. He’s always complaining about something and doing his best to cause trouble. Last week it was a new shed we put up that upset him. He wanted to know if we’d got a hold of planning permission. Wanted to measure the height to make sure it was within the regulations. I tell you, he’s a mad old bird.’

‘He didn’t look daft to me, or old,’ said Hannah hotly, anger suddenly dousing her fear. ‘He was really menacing.’

Conor frowned. ‘What did he look like?’

‘About thirty or forty, dark hair. Quite stocky and big dark eyebrows. Small piggy eyes.’

‘That’s not Moss Murphy. Ah, I bet it’s that nephew of his. I heard he was a hothead. Throwing his weight around down the pub. Sorry for that. I’ll go see Murphy in the morning and have a word with him. Are you feeling better now?’

Hannah nodded although there was still a definite tremor to her limbs. ‘Oh God, what time is it?’

‘Six-thirty.’

She rose to her feet. ‘I’m supposed to be going up to the house for dinner.’

‘That’s probably a good idea. Help you forget about what’s happened.’ He stood up and took a step back and she felt both the physical and metaphorical distance fall between them. ‘I’ll just finish that tap and get out of your hair. Sorry to intrude. I saw you go out for a walk and thought you’d be longer and the tap quicker. Enjoy your stay here.’

She gave him a wan smile, realising that he’d been trying to avoid her and was giving her a clear message that he wouldn’t be seeking her out anytime soon.

It was a shame that the Conor she’d been out to dinner with in Dublin was no longer present and that the Hannah she’d been that night had vanished too. Although, even if he had been in the market for one, she wasn’t the sort to have a holiday fling… or not usually.

Chapter Eight

Hannah approached the hen house with a fair amount of trepidation. She knew nothing about chickens and couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or nervous to find Adrienne waiting for her with a serene smile.