‘Bless him,’ said Renee, and the other two nodded.

‘So, just to warn you what Philip’s saying, that’s all, love. There’s none that believe it nor think badly of you for turning to Tom in your hour of need. We all like Tom and we all like you, and I reckon it’ll soon blow over and there’ll be summat else to interest folk before long.’

‘Thank you, Renee.’ Dora reached across tubes of peppermints and a plate of scones sitting on a doily and hugged her friend, then did the same to Sally.

When she left the shop with her carrier bags, Mrs Slater and Miss Birch were standing chatting on the path outside.

‘You all right, Dora?’ asked Mrs Slater.

‘Yes, thank you, Mrs Slater.’

Miss Birch patted Dora’s shoulder. ‘You take care, love,’ she said kindly. ‘Us womenfolk stick together.’

‘All right-thinking folk stick together, Florence,’ amended Mrs Slater.

‘Shall I see you home, Dora?’ asked Miss Birch, who was very proud of being ‘eighty next year’, as she reminded everyone regularly.

‘That’s so kind of you, thank you, Miss Birch, but I think I’ll manage,’ said Dora and, as she turned towards the Hall, she thought she’d manage all the better for the support of such kind folk as the villagers of Little Grindle.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

‘WAIT IN THE car. I won’t be a minute,’ said James, and got out before Gina could ask any questions. Without another word he locked her in and strode away.

He’d driven the short journey to Blackburn and stopped in a cobbled street of sooty-looking terraced houses. He crossed the road and went to the scruffy door of number 16. Someone must have been looking out for him because the door opened to admit him before he knocked, then closed behind him.

Gina hoped he wouldn’t be long. The car was already attracting attention. A fella of about her own age came out of another house further up; he stood on the pavement, smoking a cigarette and looking straight at the car. Then he was joined by another youth. Gina was feeling self-conscious, though she knew it was the car that they were looking at, not her. Still, she wished James would hurry up.

She glanced away, out of the side window, and noticed a grubby net curtain twitching aside. The door of the house next to that one opened, and a woman wearing a crossover pinny came out; it was like the one Dora wore to work, but matched with a pair of grubby and misshapen carpet slippers on her feet such as Dora, who was herself a thrifty dresser, would scorn to possess. The woman stood with her arms folded, staring at Gina in the car.