Judy closed the cupboard door and went back to stir the soup.

The sweet tea had done much to restore Jay’s good humour, and he demolished two bowls of soup and a large slice of bread covered in slivers of cheese. Judy had tried to be economical in case they needed to stretch the food out to last a couple of days, although she did not intend to wait idly to find out what Jay had in mind for her. She had to force herself to eat, and her throat seemed to close up when she attempted to swallow. At the back of her mind she knew that her sudden disappearance would make Ma and Nate frantic with worry. She wondered if Rob would come in search for her, but he would not know where to start.

She waited until Jay had finished his meal. ‘Why are you keeping me prisoner?’

He sat back in his chair, eyebrows raised as if the question had taken him by surprise. ‘You’re not a prisoner, Judy. You’re what I would call an insurance.’

‘An insurance against what? What are you up to, and how do I fit in?’

‘I want my birthright back,’ Jay said slowly. ‘I am the rightful lord of the manor, and that upstart has taken it away from me.’

‘If you wanted to keep the manor house, why did you sell it in the first place?’

‘I needed the money, you stupid girl. Why else would I put my ancestral home up for sale?’

‘But you’re doing so well in Australia. I don’t see why Creek Manor is so important to you.’

‘Robert Dorning is an imposter and his family are criminals. I’ll pay him a fair price, but I want the Creek Manor estate for my son.’

Judy gave him a searching look. ‘You’re doing all this to hurt Rob?’

‘I regretted my decision the moment the estate was sold. Had I known that one of the Dorning family had his eye on the estate I’d have returned sooner.’

Judy eyed him curiously. ‘I think you know more about the fire than you’re saying.’

‘I was on the other side of the world. You told me about the fire when I returned to Little Creek.’

‘You couldn’t have started the fire yourself, but you might have paid someone else to do it for you,’ Judy said slowly. ‘Did you plan it all, Jay? Did you hope to get the estate cheaper because the house was a ruin?’

‘Why don’t you mind your own business, girl?’

‘You brought me here against my will. That makes it very much my business.’

‘All right, since you won’t shut up, I’ll tell you. Yes, I arranged for someone to start the fire. I didn’t want the old ruin of a house; I wanted the land and the title for my boy, and I would have got it cheaply if Dorning hadn’t turned up.’

‘Did you know that the squire had a son by his first marriage?’