‘You’re Paul Marshall?’ She’d thought the voice sounded familiar and now she knew why.

‘That’s right. And this is my development. So I’d like to know why exactly you’re sitting on your arse doing sweet Fanny Adams when you should be out there digging.’

‘I appreciate your desire to get on with the job, Mr Marshall, but we’ve only just taken possession of the Portakabins.’

‘Not my problem, love. You’re being paid to do a job. Time is money. Sodding archaeologists have already cost me a bloody fortune, and I’ve had police and journos crawling all over this place because of that mad cow.’ He waved his hands vaguely in the direction of the copse.

Clare was so stunned that for a moment she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. ‘You mean Dr Kinsella.’

‘That’s right. Mad as a box of sodding frogs. Trying to convince anyone that would listen that this place was some sort of bloody temple or some such. Bailsgrove a temple! Load of total bollocks. That never bothers the press, though, does it?’

‘Well, I grant you Dr Kinsella’s investigations were at an early stage, but we really don’t know what we might find here as yet.’

He took a step closer to her and Clare instinctively took a step back. ‘Listen, don’t go getting any bloody ideas. That mad bitch topping herself has put this development back months. I’m paying you to be in and out of here like that’ – he clicked his fingers – ‘and you’d best make sure you are or you won’t get a penny out of me, not a sodding penny.’

Clare’s every impulse was to tell him to take his job and shove it, but she was only too well aware that the contract with Marshall Construction was the only thing that gave the institute half a chance of staying afloat. She took in a deep breath before replying, ‘I do understand your concerns, Mr Marshall. The institute is always very mindful of the need for efficiency on commercial developments.’

‘Glad to hear it. But talk is cheap. I can’t see anyone out there with buckets and spades. Doesn’t look much like you’re doing anything about it to me.’

‘Well, no. Because of the urgency of getting things rolling here, we wanted to get access to site as soon as we could, but that’s meant we haven’t had time to pull our additional team members together yet. We’d like to keep as many of the team as local as possible.’ Marshall glowered at her. ‘It will save time in the long run.’