Clare never got the chance to reply. She heard the sound of pounding feet careering down the slope behind her and then a hand appeared, it seemed out of nowhere, and gripped Marshall firmly by the arm.

Taking in huge gulps of Cotswold air, clearly out of breath, Neil said, ‘Mr Marshall, I think Clare here’s got the picture, don’t you? We wouldn’t want any more misunderstandings, now would we?’

A seemingly stunned Marshall opened his mouth as if to speak, then apparently thinking better of it, closed it again. Neil guided Marshall, still cursing under his breath, towards where his Audi was parked next to the field entrance. Clare couldn’t hear what Neil was saying, but he was still talking to Marshall. And whatever he was saying seemed to be working. With a little cajoling from Neil, Marshall eventually climbed into his car. As Marshall spun the car round he lowered his window and yelled, ‘You mark my words. I expect to be bringing my diggers onto site in a fortnight. Unless you lot are done by then I won’t be responsible for my actions.’

Neil walked back over towards the site office. ‘Are you alright?’

‘Fine. At least I think so. How did you manage that?’

‘Marshall’s like a fire. The more fuel you throw on him, the higher the flames get.’ He hesitated. ‘And I don’t think he likes women much. He was never too keen on Beth either.’

‘Well, however you did it, thank you, Neil.’ She remembered his conversation on the phone with Sadie. Maybe there was something she could do to help. ‘I think you’ve just earned yourself a bonus.’

Was he blushing? She hadn’t meant to embarrass him.

He shook his head, his eyes cast to the floor. ‘Thanks, Clare. But I know the unit’s strapped for cash. You can buy me a pint if you want to. I was just doing my job.’ Then, picking his head up, he said, ‘You know you ought to go careful around Marshall.’

Clare asked, ‘What makes you say that?’

‘Apart from what you saw just then?’

‘That was just schoolyard bully stuff.’

He shook his head. ‘I wouldn’t be so sure. Some schoolyard bullies turn into full-on thugs. I know what he’s like; I’ve dealt with him before.’

‘When Beth was running the dig, you mean?’

Neil said, ‘Not just then. On other sites too. He’s a nasty piece of work.’ He looked her straight in the eye. ‘I’m serious, Clare. You don’t want to cause him any more trouble than you have to.’

‘We’ve got a nationally important site here, Neil. There’s only a handful of these things known anywhere. Are you trying to tell me I should do some sort of botch job on it just to get out of Marshall’s hair more quickly?’