‘I understand what yer sayin’ but yer know what they say, pet. What goes round comes round,’ George reminded her as he lifted his knife and fork and licked his lips in anticipation. There was no one could turn out a pie like his Cissie! ‘He’ll get his comeuppance, you just mark my words. Now, get some o’ that pie on me plate afore I faint wi’ hunger.’

With an affectionate smile Cissie did as she was told.

Across in the stables, Livvy was stroking her horse. She had got changed immediately she got home from work and hurried to check that her little mare was all right. Just as her mother had assured her, she found that Willow was quite happy, but then she should have known that George would make sure of that. If asked, Livvy would have been forced to admit that she was nowhere near as mad about riding as Kathy was anymore, but she’d had Willow for some years now and she was very fond of her, so it went sorely against Livvy’s pride that she was now being housed in a stable that no longer belonged to her family.

‘There’s a good girl,’ she crooned as she removed a carrot from her pocket and fed it to the animal as she stroked her silky mane.

‘Ah, hello there, you must be Kathy?’

Livvy started as a voice came from directly behind her and, whirling about, she found herself face to face with a very attract­ive young man. His hair was thick and dark with a tendency to curl and his eyes were the bluest she had ever seen. He was tall and muscular and dressed in very old clothes.

‘Oh, hello. You must be Billy,’ she answered, assuming he was the groom George was training. ‘And no, I’m Livvy, Kathy’s younger sister.’

‘Ah, well I’m not Billy either,’ he told her with an amused twinkle in his eye. ‘I’m Giles Willerby, the new owner’s grandson.’

The smile instantly slid from Livvy’s face and she deliberately ignored his outstretched hand.

Jumped-up snob, she fumed to herself, who did he think he was? Was he trying to rub salt into the wound? Just because he and his grandfather now owned her home!

She fed Willow another carrot before turning abruptly to tell him primly, ‘It’s very good of your grandfather to allow me and Kathy to keep our horses here, but have no fear, as soon as we can find somewhere else to stable them, we will.’

He frowned. ‘But why would you want to do that? They’re perfectly content where they are.’