She said thoughtfully: “What are the other villagers like? I’ve never been there.”

“There’s an elder called Seric who seems more sensible than most.”

“That’s useful to know. Thank you. And how are you?” Her tone became bright and somewhat brittle. “You’re old enough to be married. Is there a girl in your life?”

Edgar was taken aback. After their conversation at her wedding, when he had told her about Sungifu, how could she ask him a lighthearted question about romance? “I’m not planning to marry,” he said shortly.

She sensed his reaction, and said: “I’m sorry. I forgot, for a moment, just how very serious you are, for someone your age.”

“I think we have that in common.”

She thought about that. He feared he had been impudent, but all she said was: “Yes.”

It was an intimate moment, and he was emboldened to say: “Aldred told me about Inge.”

A wounded look came over her lovely face. “It was a shock to me,” she said.

Edgar guessed she was not that frank with everyone, and he felt privileged. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I feel mortified that you’ve been so misled by the English.” In the back of his mind he was thinking that he was not as sad as he should have been. Somehow the idea that Wilf had turned out to be an unsatisfactory husband did not displease him as much as it ought to have. He put the ungenerous thought out of his mind and said: “That’s why I’m so cross about Gab the quarrymaster. You know that we English are not all the same, though, don’t you?”

“Of course. But I only married one.”

Edgar risked a bold question. “Do you still love him?”

She answered without hesitation. “Yes.”

He was surprised.

He must have shown it for she said: “I know. He’s deceived me, and he’s unfaithful, but I love him.”

“I see,” he said, though he did not.

“You shouldn’t be shocked,” she said. “You love a dead woman.”

That was harsh, but they were having a frank conversation. “I suppose you’re right,” he said.

Suddenly she seemed to feel they had gone far enough. She stood up and said: “I have a lot to do.”

“I’m glad to have seen you. Thank you for the cheese.” He turned to go.

She stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Thank you for telling me about the quarrymaster at Outhenham. I appreciate it.”

He felt a glow of satisfaction.

To his surprise she kissed his cheek. “Good-bye,” she said. “I hope I see you again soon.”

In the morning Aldred and Edgar went out to see the army ride off.

Aldred was still chewing over the mystery of Dreng’s Ferry. The place had something to hide. He had wondered why the ordinary villagers there were hostile to strangers. It was because they were guarding a secret—all except Edgar and his family, who were not in on it.