Coming down the drive, she spotted Charlie at his bedroom window, and he waved back when she tapped the horn. By the time she’d slow-reversed the wagon into the garage and climbed out, he was standing in his overalls by the workbench, ready to begin.

‘I was thinking you were lost somewhere,’ he said. ‘Did everything turn out all right?’

‘I think so. Had to pay a few more bob than I was hoping. Plus a tank of diesel.’ She retrieved the box from the front seat. ‘Mr Mayhood won’t be pleased.’

‘Ah, he’ll make it back in time saved, won’t he?’ Charlie lifted up the clump of straw the farmer had put in the box for cushioning. Underneath: a new thrust bearing and a worm gear, used. ‘These are in good nick.’

‘We’ll see. The proof is in the pudding.’

He looked up with a face of mock alarm. ‘Don’t remind me – Joy’s in charge of supper.’

‘What time do you make it now?’

‘It’s nearly five.’

‘We have at least an hour, then. Good.’ Her overalls were hanging on a peg in the dim recess by the doorway. She buttoned herself into them and pinned her fringe back with the kirby grips she kept inside the pockets. ‘What’s your sister cooking?’

‘I dunno. But don’t expect a feast.’

‘If it’s warm, I’ll eat it. All I’ve had today is toast and biscuits – gave the last fried egg to Mr Hollis when he came this morning.’

‘That old man can look after himself, if you ask me.’

‘I owed him one this time.’

‘Is that why he’s been coming round to use our bath and all?’

‘That’s not my doing. But yes.’ The procedure to attach the parts was fiddly and she wanted to review the manufacturer’s diagrams before they started. ‘Where’s the manual got to? It was here on the seat.’

‘Sorry, miss, I moved it,’ Charlie said. He went over to the bench where all her tools were spread out in a neat arrangement and then ambled back, the grease-stained Fordson booklet scrolled up in his fist.

‘Does it say what grade of oil the gearbox needs? We’ll have to top it up again.’

‘Yeah, hold on a sec.’ He turned the pages. ‘Ninety viscosity.’

‘All right. We’ve got a can of that, I think.’

‘What does “SAE” mean?’

In the past few weeks, she’d learned that Charlie was the sort of boy who never asked a question twice. As soon as he received the information he required, it filled a little vacancy inside his brain for ever. ‘Society of Auto something,’ she said. ‘Engineering, maybe. Not important.’ She rubbed her hands, examining the disconnected parts that sat upon a sheet beside the two back wheels. Every last component had been cleaned and polished to the best of her ability. Between them, they’d plotted out the disassembly in her notebook, accounting for each tiny step and measure. All they had to do was trace back through the sequence and swap in the new parts; but no machine was ever so amenable to her intentions. ‘I suppose it shouldn’t take us long, in theory.’