‘Yes, but isn’t forgiveness and reconciliation the only way to bring healing to those who’ve lost so much? There’s a whole new generation who had nothing to do with it. And every Ferrington miner, whatever their side, from what I’ve heard, they all just tried to do what was best for their families. Surely continuing the feud means that no one wins.’

Becky twisted her mug round in her hands a few times as she thought about that. ‘Yeah. Maybe. Probably most of the younger residents would agree it’s time to start letting go. But easier said than done, to tell a man he has to forgive the people who watched his brother drown. To ask a woman, hey, isn’t it time you got over having to let your children go hungry?’

‘What if instead of focusing on what happened then, people had something new to concentrate on? Something that was good for the whole village, that would bring them together? Let each side see that the other side is simply other families, going about their business, trying to live their lives?’

‘I can’t imagine what.’ Becky looked at Daniel.

He shrugged. ‘Well, if Northern Ireland could reach a peaceful agreement, it doesn’t seem crazy to think Ferrington could manage it.’

‘Daniel, you’re a genius!’ I said, an idea exploding in my head. ‘Didn’t they have a peace bridge somewhere?’ I whipped out my phone and did a quick search. ‘Yes! Joining the unionist and nationalist sides of the River Foyle. Ferrington needs a peace bridge, and by getting everyone involved, we can bring the two sides together so once it’s built, they’ll actually use it!’

‘That’s never going to work.’ Becky shook her head. ‘No one will use it.’

‘Maybe Luke Winter will when he comes to pick you up for your first date.’

At the mention of Luke, Becky’s cheek flushed pink and she couldn’t hide the smile tugging at her mouth.

‘I get this is radical thinking to most Ferrings.’

‘Try potentially life-threatening,’ Daniel said.

‘But I’m going to do some proper research, look into successful reconciliation projects, find out what worked, put together an unbeatable plan and then I’m going to build a damn bridge from your front door to Luke’s and you can both thank me in your wedding speech. Now, didn’t we have a carpet to rip up?’

In the end, before starting my End the Ferrington Feud project, we had some more recent history to confront. That Friday I had taken a day off from renovations to babysit Hope. I took her to see Ziva and the bees in the orchard, then walked to the river, where we stopped and watched the February sunlight flickering off the water and I pictured the precise spot where a bridge might go. With me looking after her on the Friday, Grandma Billie agreed to have her for the whole day on Saturday. Daniel had an important task to complete, and it was best done without a baby to witness the emotions it would inevitably conjure up. We did ask Billie if she wanted to join us, but she politely declined.