‘You’re right,’ Hilda said firmly. ‘Judy was too young to realise just how much Jay hurt Daisy, and he cared nothing for the other young woman whom he also married bigamously, nor for the two children she bore him. He didn’t appreciate Creek Manor, and he saw his tenants merely as a way to make money.’

‘My family paid for their crimes, but I want to make the name Dorning stand for something other than greed and violence. I want my children to be proud of their father.’

‘That’s all very well,’ Judy said, frowning. ‘But what happens now? As Jay said, you’ll have a legal battle on your hands, Rob. So where does that leave us?’

‘I think the first thing to be done is to fix the front door, and then we can talk about what to do next.’

Hilda raised herself from the settle. ‘You’re right, Rob. It’s freezing in here. Nate will help you. I’ll ask him to find the tool box and some wood.’ She hurried from the taproom.

‘Ma is fine when she has something to do,’ Judy said, smiling. ‘That goes for me, too.’

‘I’m sorry you had to go through all that. I was going to tackle Jay in private, but he forced my hand.’

‘I’m glad I know the truth. It makes life easier for me.’

‘You don’t have to remain here, Judy. I’ve given it a lot of thought and there’s the gatekeeper’s cottage on the estate. The old fellow apparently went to live with his sisters and so the cottage is vacant. You could all live there rent free for as long as you like.’

‘We’re not your responsibility, Rob. Besides which, we have to earn our living. I’m happy to stay here and run the inn. We’re breaking even at the moment, and if trade improves then we’ll make enough to pay rent, like real tenants.’

‘You’re a stubborn woman, Judy Begg.’

‘Have you just realised that?’ she said, laughing. ‘Do you agree, and will you stay on as a paying guest? We can’t make exceptions, I’m afraid.’

Chapter Nineteen

It was all over the village. Soon everyone knew what had occurred on Christmas Day at the Crooked Billet Inn. Judy could not go anywhere without someone stopping her to congratulate her and her mother for standing up to the bullying tactics of yet another Tattersall. Jay was, if possible, even more unpopular than his late father, but that did not seem to deter him and he continued to lodge with his sister and brother-in-law in the school house. Judy gauged local opinion when she went to the village shop where George Keyes was always happy to update her on the latest gossip, and if anything, trade at the Crooked Billet had improved. People seemed eager to show their support for Rob, despite his family’s notoriety, although Judy suspected that most of the inhabitants of Little Creek had sympathy, and a certain nostalgia, for the old days when smuggling was rife. It was said that previous incumbents of the vicarage had condoned the trade, and that contraband had at one time been stored in the church crypt. Of course John Peabody denied this, as did his wife, but Judy suspected that there was an element of truth in the story, and the Dornings’ reputation did nothing to prevent the farm workers and fishermen from patronising the inn.