‘It wouldn’t have seemed so important if it wasn’t for something else that we stumbled upon,’ I said, holding her gaze. I didn’t want to tell her about the body. Not yet. ‘We heard a story about a man who came to see Fairfax. A Frenchman. He said he was here to record local birdsong. And we have it on pretty good authority he went to see Fairfax to ask questions about somebody he used to know …’

Felicity butted in, sitting forward on her chair.

‘Our Brian said he asked you to translate a letter in French when you came to his school and that got me thinking about last winter when you were at Fairfax’s all the time …’

Mrs Parker shook her head and her face hardened again. ‘All the time? What are you implying?’

‘No, no, nothing like that,’ protested Flick, colouring.

I turned to Mr Parker. He was staring at his wife. He caught me looking at him and gave a sad little smile.

‘I don’t think I want this conversation to continue,’ said Mrs Parker. ‘I think it’s a bit rich you coming here and upsetting us when all we’ve done is try and help you.’

That tore a hole in my veneer. I rounded on her, furious.

‘Help me? You’ve only been to my door twice. Once to try and take advantage of the fact I didn’t know what my land was worth and the second time to watch my boy die!’

‘How dare you,’ she snapped, as angry as I was.

I turned back to Mr Parker. ‘Are you really Swiss,’ I demanded. ‘Or are you a Frenchman from a little place in Correze? Did Fairfax find something out about you?’

‘Don’t tell her anything,’ said Mrs Parker, throwing him a hard look. ‘You don’t have to. She’s mad. Mad with grief …’

‘Are you?’ I asked again. ‘Your accent doesn’t give anything away. It’s foreign but it could be from anywhere. You arrived here after the war, yes? Was it Ireland where you met? Fresh start, was it. I can’t blame you. What you saw …’

Mrs Parker hauled herself out of the chair and came to stand above me. I thought she was going to slap my face but instead she stood with her hands on her hips, bristling with rage.

‘Ask yourself what you’re doing,’ she hissed. ‘Just think about it!’

I felt Flick’s hand on my shoulder and for a moment I took a step out of myself and realized just what I was attempting to do. I was bullying this small, fragile man into reliving something that must have been beyond endurance. If I was correct in my suspicions, he had witnessed true horrors. And I needed him to face them afresh.

I closed my eyes for a moment and when I spoke again my voice was more calm.