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who’s going to cut the hay? It’s going to be nothing but trouble.’
    ‘Is that such a big deal? I mean he’ll have to pay for it. Why does he need extra water anyway?’
    ‘It’s for a caravan park he wants to open.’
    ‘No! How awful.’
    ‘You see, I was right about that field. I did warn her to get rid of it straight away.’
    ‘If she had,’ I pointed out, ‘whoever bought it might have given permission straight away.’
    ‘That’s as may be,’ Rosemary brushed it aside. ‘It seems that field is the only way the water can be brought to the particular bit of his land that’s suitable.’
    ‘Has he got planning permission for this caravan park?’ I asked.
    ‘He’s thick as thieves with half the council so
that
won’t be a problem once he gets the water.’
    ‘Oh dear.’
    ‘He’s offered her a lot of money, but you know Eva, if she’s made up her mind about something. And there’s no way she’d want a place like that next door – think of all the traffic back and forth up the lane!’
    ‘She really could do without this hassle. But you’re right, she’ll stand firm.’
    And when I saw her next she was quite determined.
    ‘It’s just the sort of situation Alan would have hated,’ she said. ‘I feel I’d be letting him down if I gave in, even if I wanted to, which I don’t!’
    ‘What does Donald say about it all?’ I asked.
    ‘Oh, he’s had to go to Chicago for a bit – something the company he worked for want to consult him about – I don’t know the details, but I think he’s likely to be away for several weeks.’
    ‘That’s a shame; I’m sure he would have been very supportive.’
    ‘Oh well, there’s nothing this Butler man can do as long as I keep saying no.’
    Rosemary, when I told her about the conversation, pounced on the fact of Donald’s trip to Chicago.
    ‘I wonder what
that
’s all about.’
    ‘Something his firm wanted to consult him about,’ I suggested. ‘Something about the South American operation that he’d know about.’
    ‘It sounds a bit odd. I mean, they’ve got people out there, haven’t they, why do they need him?’
    ‘Presumably because it’s something connected with the time he was out there.’
    ‘It must be important,’ Rosemary continued, ‘if they’ve got him flying all the way across the Atlantic.’
    ‘I don’t think flying across the Atlantic is a very big deal to people like Donald.’
    ‘But,’ she persisted, ‘why would they ask him if he’d left under some sort of cloud?’
    ‘I don’t think that was the case,’ I said. ‘Eva said there’d been a disagreement.’
    ‘A
major
disagreement.’
    ‘Whatever. But there’s no reason to think it was anything sinister.’
    ‘Well, I do think Eva should be careful. After all, we know very little about him.’
    ‘Honestly, I do think Eva’s capable of looking after herself.’
    ‘Mother says she’s in a very vulnerable position so soon after Alan’s death. And I’m inclined to agree with her.’
    I sighed. The fact that Rosemary said that she agreed with one of her mother’s opinions really did indicate just how worried she was about her cousin.

Chapter Five
    ‘That really was most interesting,’ I said reluctantly. Anthea had been going on for ages about this genealogist and how lucky we were that
she
had got hold of him for Brunswick Lodge.
    ‘Quite a coup,’ Anthea was saying. ‘He’s very much in demand, you know, gives talks all over the country.’
    ‘What a pity he had to leave so early to get his train,’ Alison Shelby said. ‘There were such a lot of things I wanted to ask him.’ She turned to Eva. ‘Don’t you agree – it was absolutely fascinating?’
    ‘I must say it did make me think,’ Eva said. ‘I’ve always wanted to know more about the family. I don’t know much about either side, my father’s or my mother’s. My father never talked about his family in Australia and I expect it would be difficult to find stuffthere,