‘Here,’ Daniel handed each of them a bottle of cider. ‘Thanks for coming.’

‘Er, I don’t think so!’ Alice said, snatching a bottle back from one of them. ‘She was the one said they should throw Eleanor in the river!’ She waved the bottle threateningly. ‘Now get out of here!’

‘Well, that could have gone a lot worse.’ Daniel stepped up and bumped my side with his elbow.

‘You think?’

‘The barn’s still standing, no one got hurt. They dispersed in an orderly fashion without the police needing to be called. I’d say that’s a major win.’

‘Might want to check your tyres aren’t slashed, though…’ Alice said.

‘I don’t know,’ Becky mused. ‘I’m really surprised by how well they all listened. I genuinely thought when you climbed onto those pallets that you might be leaving in an ambulance.’

‘Well, I tried, anyway. And at least people seemed to like the food.’

‘You got seventy-three people from both sides of the river together, in one place, enjoying themselves,’ Ziva added.

‘Yeah, for a whole fifteen minutes.’ I sliced off a piece of Wensleydale and went to take a bite before realising that I couldn’t stomach it.

‘Fifteen minutes more than anyone else has managed!’ Ziva took the cheese and stuck it in her mouth. ‘At the very least, you gave us all a great deal to think about. And whatever they may have said, however fiercely they marched out, they’ll have gone home thinking about it. I know this to be true, because I’ll be one of them. Some of them will have to admit, however reluctantly, that you were right. And next time a New Sider needs the doctor, or an Old Sider drags her child out of bed at some unearthly hour to catch the school bus, they’ll remember what you said. Now, we’ll be off. I suggest you use the remains of the damson wine to celebrate an evening that Ferrington will be gossiping about for years to come. Becky will stay and help you clear up.’

‘Is that doctor’s orders?’ Becky asked.

‘It is.’

I thought she may have been about to protest, but at that moment Luke Winter appeared in the barn door. ‘Am I too late? I thought it finished at nine?’ He pulled up short when he saw Becky’s parents, but to his credit he recovered admirably. ‘Dr Solomon. Mr Adams.’

‘Yes, in you go,’ John Adams said. ‘Everyone’s welcome at Damson Farm this evening, and I think you’re in time for the after-party.’

In the end, it was far too cold to stay in the barn without the mass of bodies to supplement the heaters. Instead, we packed up the remains of the food and drink and decamped to the farmhouse kitchen.

‘How’s Jase doing?’ Luke asked Alice, once we’d filled our glasses with the remains of the wine. ‘I’ve not seen him at football much this season.’

Alice, sitting opposite him, pulled a face. ‘That’s because he’d rather sit at home and play fake football on his X-Box. I wouldn’t mind so much, but it means I have to watch telly on my phone, and if I want to read I need to go in the bedroom to get away from the noise.’ She took a sip of wine. ‘That’s not true. I’d still mind. I might as well be invisible when he’s gaming. And since he lost his job he’s always gaming.’