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knowledge that Llinos was barren. It was not her fault of course; the prolonged birth had ruined her chances of ever conceiving a child again. He wanted to love her, to comfort her and yet he was almost afraid to touch her.
    ‘You have met him?’ Eynon asked. ‘This man Sparks I mean.’
    Joe’s eyebrows lifted. ‘No but I have heard of him all right! The man was foolish enough to try to tell my wife how to run her business. I believe he received the sharp edge of Llinos’s tongue.’
    ‘I can just imagine it.’ Eynon laughed. ‘But then Sparks is a small man in every way, small framed and smaller of mind. All the same, I think Mr Sparks will make a bad enemy.’ He folded his sketchbook away. ‘Are you going back towards the pottery now?’
    Joe nodded. ‘Aye, I’ll walk so far with you. Finished your drawing then?’
    ‘For today.’ The breeze drifted in from the sea as they walked across the hills. It was Eynon who broke the companionable silence.
    ‘I’ve seen a great deal of Watt Bevan lately but I don’t mind because his presence makes my housekeeper very happy. Maura seems to have quite got over that husband of hers.’ He glanced sideways at Joe. ‘Some of us find our pleasures outside marriage, you see?’
    Joe looked towards Eynon; he was smiling, he was a man who had flaunted all the codes of etiquette and enjoyed it.
    ‘I think that Maura and her Watt are as respectable as any couple who walked down the aisle of a church,’ Eynon continued. ‘Though my friend Martin would be horrified by my attitude.’ He paused. ‘At least that’s what he says.’
    ‘And you don’t believe him for one minute?’
    ‘No, Joe, I don’t believe him for one minute.’
    The two men walked in silence for a time until the green of the hill led down to where the trail met the river.
    ‘This is where our paths diverge,’ Eynon said. ‘Perhaps I can call over to see Llinos one evening? If she’s up to visitors that is.’
    ‘Llinos would like that. We both would like that.’ Joe paused. ‘Could I ask you a favour?’
    ‘Anything.’
    ‘When I go to America I would like you to take care of my family for me.’
    ‘I would be honoured.’ Eynon was suddenly serious. ‘Something is wrong, isn’t it?’
    Joe looked away across the vast sky. There was a great deal wrong, his mind needed clearing. He had been troubled ever since the death of his baby daughter and now he was troubled about his mother. He had recurring dreams about Mint, dreams of her drowning in a river that flowed swiftly, taking away the very breath of life. He must go to her, for her days on earth were numbered.
    There was more troubling him. He felt bewildered by his feelings for Llinos. He loved her still and yet he could not bring himself to go to her, to hold her in his arms and make love to her. While he lived in the same house as Llinos he would never find the answers to his problems.
    He did not say as much to Eynon. ‘It’s just that I’ll be gone for several months and I like to think of Llinos with a friend she can depend on.’
    ‘You didn’t really answer my question, Joe,’ Eynon said. ‘But I won’t push you. Perhaps I will persuade Llinos to come with me to one of the balls; I will dance with her all night and pay her every attention.’ He waved. ‘Bye, Joe, take care.’
    Joe watched as Eynon swung along the road towards where his house stood tall and golden in the evening sun. He waited until the other man was out of sight and then he turned and, with his head bowed, made his way home.

CHAPTER THREE
    Lily was finding it more difficult every day to live in the same house as James Wesley. At first, she had thought to ingratiate herself with him, to seek his protection. She had even contemplated marrying him but it was becoming more and more obvious that he had no interest in her.
    She watched now as he stretched out in the easy chair, his feet before the fire. The evenings were becoming chilly and Lily felt the