“The food here is amazing,” Lucy said, smiling as she watched the little boy rush off with his treat, closely followed by the family dog who clearly had an eye to him dropping it.

“All homemade,” Persis said. “You could make a hollandaise sauce,” she added approvingly, looking at the eggs and the asparagus, but Lucy shook her head.

“No,” she said. “I really couldn’t.”

Persis laughed. “Ask Finn to show you,” she said. “He’s a good cook.”

Lucy wondered how Persis knew that and then chided herself. Maybe Finn gave regular dinners for everyone in the village or, more likely, when he and his brother had both been living and working at Gunpowder Cottage, they’d probably had friends round for meals. Finn didn’t seem so sociable now, taking long walks with just Geoffrey for company, and who could blame him?

“I suppose Finn knows a lot about fruit and vegetables,” Lucy said, “especially if you want them cooked to a historical recipe.”

Persis laughed. “Finn knows a lot about all sorts of things,” she said. She sounded warm. “He’s amazing. When Charlie was alive, I used to hang out with them a lot.” She stopped, biting her lip. “It was different then.”

“I can imagine,” Lucy said. “I’m very sorry. Was Charlie a good friend of yours?”

“We were dating,” Persis said. “Just casual.” She blinked, avoiding Lucy’s eyes, putting the items through the till. “I hadn’t had the chance to get to know him well and then... Well, I guess you know what happened.”

“Yes,” Lucy said. “It must have been awful for all of you.”

“The whole village was in shock,” Persis said. “I mean, accidents do happen around here sometimes. The roads can be dangerous and people can drive too fast. But not Charlie! He was really steady. He was fun—don’t get me wrong, but you knew he was sound.”

Lucy stowed the eggs carefully on the top of her bag and on impulse picked up a bunch of freesias and sweet peas, thinking that they would add a splash of color to the barn as well as some gorgeous scent.

“I’m very sorry,” she said again. “It’s obviously hit Finn hard and I imagine it’s been difficult for a lot of people, including you. Ghastly accidents like that are so difficult to get your head around because they feel so utterly pointless and unfair.”

“Thanks.” Persis gave her a brief glance and a smile. “Yeah, it’s been tough. But—” she stretched “—it’s summer now, I guess, and we all need to try to move on. It’s a shame Finn decided to carry on with the research and the dig. It would have been better in a way if he’d just left after Charlie died.”

Lucy was startled, both by her words and the sudden fierceness of her tone. “I heard he wanted to finish the job as a tribute to his brother,” she said carefully.

“I expect he did,” Persis said, “but it would have been better if he’d just left it.” She slammed the till shut rather sharply, making it clear that the discussion was over.