‘You all right, love?’ asked Tom when they were out of Ellen’s hearing. ‘Only you’re looking a bit tired, like.’

‘Aye, I am a bit weary,’ said Dora. ‘I’ll be all right once I get polishing.’

Tom smiled. ‘Have you time to tell me about it while I see to the lawn mower?’

‘Five minutes then, but we’ll stay outside. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea: you and me in the shed together.’

Tom threw back his head and laughed. ‘Aye, lass, that would never do.’

They walked round to what Ellen had thought yesterday looked like a little village of garden outbuildings and Tom opened the big shed and wheeled out the lawn mower. Then he and Dora sat down behind it on a couple of large upturned plant pots, where they could see anyone approaching.

‘What’s the matter? Is it that brother of mine?’

‘Well, I can hardly blame him for worrying,’ said Dora, loyally. She told Tom the sorry tale of the dead sheep and lambs.

‘So he was fretting and worriting all night? I can imagine. Not a thought that you might need a good night’s sleep before another day’s work. Selfish bugger. Typical: if he’s got summat on his mind he makes sure everyone else shares the worry.’

This seemed to Dora a fair summary of Philip’s attitude throughout their marriage, and he was getting worse as he grew older. She was too tired to find any loyal words to contradict Tom. Suddenly tears sprang to her eyes and she brushed them away hastily before he saw and misunderstood.

‘Hey, chin up, lass,’ he said. ‘I’d be willing to bet there’s no more dead sheep today and the whole business will remain a mystery until everyone forgets about it.’

‘Aye, I’m hoping so.’

‘And Phil’ll go on about it for a few days, just to eke out the bad news, like, and then even he will have to shut up.’

Dora gave a watery smile. This also was a pretty accurate account of the pattern of Phil’s gloomy moods.

‘You never know, he might even remember he has two beautiful daughters – in addition to his remarkably fine wife – and be glad for them about their new jobs. It’ll do him no harm to think of summat beyond himself.’