‘That’s ridiculous,’ I bluffed, ‘I’m hardly in hiding, am I? I’ve spent more time out of the cottage than I have in it and there can’t be many people left in Wynmouth who don’t know who I am. I’m just here for a holiday.’

‘A really long one.’

‘Well, yes, I suppose it is a bit longer than average, but it’s what I needed.’

‘Along with the tech break.’

‘Along with the tech break,’ I swallowed.

‘Fair enough,’ she shrugged.

She seemed to accept what I had said, but having run through it all, I wouldn’t have blamed her if she didn’t.

‘I can’t help thinking there is someone around here who’s on the run though,’ she said, sucking the pen again.

‘Oh,’ I said, happy that her thoughts had moved on from me, ‘who would that be then?’

‘Joe, of course,’ she said, as if I should have known. ‘He’s definitely someone who’s on the run.’

I was inclined to agree with her, but thinking back to what George had said, I knew it was important not to interfere.

‘How can he be on the run when he’s come back?’ I pointed out.

‘You know what I mean.’

‘I think he’s most likely just finding it hard to settle back in,’ I said, offering her my take on the situation. ‘What with the trouble at the farm and everything, it’s bound to take him a while.’

‘That’s as maybe,’ she said, ‘but I still think there’s more to it than that.’

‘You do?’

I was fast beginning to feel that I was fighting a losing battle. She might not have intended to do it, but her words were wearing down my non-interfering resolve.

‘Yes,’ she carried on, sounding more convinced than ever, ‘and you’ve spent a lot of time with him, don’t you feel it too?’

‘I haven’t spent that long . . .’

‘And I’m getting exactly the same vibe from Sam.’

‘How so?’

‘Well, whenever we talk about how he feels about Joe being back, he starts off all right and then he just clams up. I don’t think it’s just Joe who is holding something back, I reckon Sam is too.’

‘Maybe it’s the same thing,’ I suggested, before remembering my conviction to keep out of it, ‘but whatever it is, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t force them to talk about it and I don’t think we should try.’

‘Do you not?’

‘No,’ I said firmly, ‘absolutely not.’

‘But if they don’t properly get their heads together soon,’ she pointed out, ‘they might carry on like this into their forties.’

‘Oh,’ I said, eager to scotch her fear, ‘I don’t think it will come to that. I mean, look at how they worked together at the beach clean yesterday. That was amazing progress, wasn’t it?’