She went to face the gathering.

‘Thank you everyone,’ she started, ‘for taking the time to come to this meeting.’ She paused. Expectant faces. She took another mouthful of rum tea. Somehow this was harder than when she’d stood up at the AGM. Then, it had just been about her and Becky. Now, she was in the midst of a whole group of people who were suffering in one way or another, and she was mindful of their personal anguish. Sunita, the young mum who’d had breast cancer, was directly in front of her on Grace’s blue armchair. She had had a mastectomy and was, so far, in the clear. Sunita gave her an encouraging smile.

‘You know who I am,’ continued Kate, ‘and how I got to know you through my daughter. You also know why I’m here and why I’ve asked you to come tonight. And I know you’ve also talked amongst yourselves about the reason I believe there’s so much illness in this community. In my letter, I said that I think each of you deserves financial compensation for the trauma and everything that’s gone with that, and I am here to ask if you would like me to help you get it.’

‘Sorry to state the obvious, love, but you don’t look like no lawyer.’

It was Ian who had spoken. He was a retired farm worker who’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer four years ago – almost immediately after he’d stopped working. He’d lived in his cottage with his wife Hazel for four decades. They’d originally wanted to sell up and spend their retirement in Italy, but the illness had prevented the move at first and now they were too anxious to go in case anything else happened and they needed urgent medical care.

Kate smoothed the fabric of her jeans self-consciously. ‘I’m not, not officially . . . but I’m training. At night school. It’s a Civil Litigation course. And I’ve been researching . . .’ She pulled a thick pile of files out of her bag and held them up. ‘I think we can build a case.’

She was met with silence and got a strong sense they were humouring her.

‘Has anyone done anything like this before?’ asked Sunita.

‘Yes. There was a recent landmark case in California. A school-grounds worker who has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma took a major agrochemical company to court, saying their herbicide product, which contains glyphosate, caused his terminal illness. He was awarded several million dollars in compensation.’

‘Wow, so he actually beat them?’ asked Sunita.

Kate could hardly lie to her. ‘The company is appealing.’

‘Anyone else?’ asked Ian. ‘What about in this country?’

‘No . . . but that doesn’t mean to say we can’t be the first,’ she added quickly. Look, I’ve prepared a pack for each of you documenting evidence, cases around the world linking pesticide and herbicide use with cancers and other illnesses. The rise of Parkinson’s in rural Lincolnshire amongst people who live near potato farms. People who live near a cranberry-growing area near Cape Cod who have been found to have twice the risk for all brain cancers. Farm workers with prostate cancer, even livestock. The farm here heavily uses a product called Crixus which has been cited in other reports where cancers have been found.’ She held out the folders she’d got out of her bag earlier, but no one reached for one. ‘The bottom line is, do you believe the chemicals sprayed on a regular basis just metres from your home are the cause of your families’ illnesses? If so, are you prepared to fight those who’ve done this and demand their acknowledgement, an apology and compensation?’