“So what did you think of my cows?” Tony asked. He had moved over to the fire and was now standing rather close to Belinda.

“I thought they had lovely eyelashes,” she said.

He laughed. “Typical woman. Notices the eyelashes, not the prodigious udders.”

“Which is what a man would have noticed,” Belinda replied.

I felt the conversation was veering into the realm of flirtation and turned to examine a cluster of silver-framed photographs on a side table. One particularly caught my eye. It was a snapshot of a group of young people, the girls in shorts, their hair tied back. I recognized a young Tony, handsome and self-assured even then. And the striking blond girl must have been Jonquil. She was looking at the camera with arrogant defiance. Rose’s moon face peeked from the back of the group, looking shy and uncertain. And perched on the five bar gate . . . “Is this you, Belinda?” I asked.

She came over to see the photograph. Tony followed her.

“Oh my goodness, don’t I look awful,” she replied. “Talk about skinny. And I’m frowning at the camera.” She looked up at Tony. “I’ve never seen this before. It’s a photo of our set. It must have been the last summer before Granny moved. You’re there, standing behind the gate, Rose. Oh, and look at Jago. Wasn’t he tall? But also skinny.”

“I seem to remember he had a bit of a crush on you, Belinda, didn’t he?” Rose said.

“I wouldn’t call it a crush.” Belinda had gone red. “I remember he kissed me once, before I left for school. It wasn’t bad either.”

“That blighter,” Tony said. “Never did like him. He’s come back to the area, you know.”

“Yes, we ran into him today. He says he’s working at Trengilly.”

“Yes. He works for the foreign gentleman who bought the place,” Rose said.

“Foreign gentleman!” Tony gave a disparaging sniff. “Bit of a crook from what I’ve heard. The whole thing’s suspicious if you ask me.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“I’ve heard things about where his money comes from. Dubious sources.”

Belinda was still examining the photograph. “And who is the pale boy standing behind me?” She looked up, her mouth open in realization. “Oh, it’s Colin, isn’t it? I’d forgotten all about him. Poor Colin.”

“Who was Colin?” I asked. “I haven’t heard him mentioned before.”

“He was only here that one summer,” Tony said. “A summer visitor staying with someone. We always picked up a couple of extras who were just here for a few weeks. Well, Colin latched on to us. We never encouraged him. Boring sort of chap, wasn’t he? The brainy type who likes to quote statistics. He went to a grammar school.” He grinned as if this was a sin.