‘I love where you live. Your life’s so exciting, Jed. My house is so boring – it’s nothing like yours.’

Jed held both reins in his right hand. He put his left arm around Frankie. ‘Move in with me?’

‘I can’t. My dad will kill me,’ Frankie replied immediately.

‘Tell him about us. I ain’t frightened of your father and neither should you be. He’s gonna find out we’re together one day, ain’t he?’

Frankie sighed. ‘Yeah, I know, but not yet. You don’t know my dad – he’ll go mental, I know he will.’

Approaching a bend, Jed held the reins back in both hands. ‘Trot on,’ he said, making a funny clicking noise with his mouth.

Thinking of her dad gave Frankie the heebie-jeebies. Say he drove along and saw her? Feeling worried all of a sudden, she laid her head on Jed’s shoulder. ‘I’m cold. Can we go back now? I haven’t got to be home yet. We can go back to bed if you like.’

Jed turned his head and kissed her gently on the lips. ‘I bet you marry me within a year. I’ll bet you anything you like.’

Frankie burst out laughing. Jed oozed so much confidence. He had such a glow, you could almost warm your hands on him. Poking her tongue out, Frankie snatched the reins out of Jed’s hands.

‘Trot on,’ she yelled. ‘Trot on!’

Jimmy O’Hara had never been a man to lie in bed of a morning. His Alice was the same and they had their own little routines. Alice would get up like a good wife should and clean the house till it sparkled. Jimmy would feed the animals and do the dirty jobs, which men were supposed to do.

As he saw the horse and cart pull onto the drive, Jimmy’s eyes widened. He had been aware of a horse trotting about earlier, but thought he had dreamed it. Seeing Jed jump off the cart, he threw down the bucket he was holding and moved nearer to see who the pretty little filly was. He had seen the girl before, she definitely looked familiar, but she didn’t look like a travelling girl. His Jed was a dark horse. Jimmy had guessed by Jed’s recent behaviour that he had met a bird he liked, but Jed had said very little about her.

Jimmy sneaked around the back of his house so he could get a closer peek. Seeing Frankie not twenty yards from him, realisation crept in and Jimmy smiled with such gusto, it nearly pushed his teeth out. ‘It’s fucking Eddie Mitchell’s girl,’ Jimmy whispered as he ducked down, desperate not to be seen.