He watched the play of emotions flit across her face and wondered what she was thinking. She was a woman of mystery – he had been able to find out very little about her – but without a doubt there had been some kind of great trauma in her life. Without knowing how he knew, he was certain of it. Of course, it could be that the death of her husband had left her grief-stricken, but he felt it was more than that.

Rose took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully. ‘I’m flattered that you imagine you love me but as I said, you don’t know anything about me. What you feel can only be attraction, nothing more.’

‘And you?’ he said softly. ‘Do you feel an attraction towards me?’

She needed to lie and kill this thing stone dead. It had come out of the blue and it was dangerous because it had already destroyed her peace of mind. She raised her head and stared at him but then the silent appeal in his dark eyes robbed her of speech. Their gaze locked for long moments, and when she spoke it was a little whisper, so low he could barely hear her. ‘I can’t do this, I can’t. I – I want you to leave.’

‘Please, don’t be distressed.’

Now her chin came up slightly, her voice firmer when she said, ‘Please go.’

‘Are you frightened of me?’ She didn’t speak but her green eyes answered him, and he said urgently, ‘Don’t be, please don’t be. I wouldn’t harm a hair of your head.’

She hadn’t imagined he would. It wasn’t that kind of fear that was gripping her.

‘Look, I have handled this badly, I am aware of that. Turning up here unannounced, what must you think of me?’ He ran a hand through his thick dark hair in his agitation and for a fleeting moment she wondered what it would feel like beneath her fingers.

‘I wish you no harm, please believe that if nothing else. It was just that I couldn’t leave without telling you how I feel. I shall be away some time, you see, and I wondered if perhaps we could correspond? Get to know a little about each other?’

‘I don’t think that would be wise.’

‘No, it wouldn’t, but would you write all the same? As friends, purely as friends if that is what you wish. I ask for nothing more.’

She shook her head. ‘I shall be moving soon, Mr Bembridge, and—’

‘Moving?’ The note of alarm in his voice would have been funny in other circumstances. ‘You are leaving Consett?’

‘No, I am not leaving the town but I plan to open a bakery so—’