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Belligerent to come to her aid.
    And yet he had waited for her today, he had made sure she had not wandered into the swamp; he had not had to do that. But then maybe there was no swamp, perhaps he had just said that to frighten her, to make her look even more foolish than she already did, not that that would have been too hard. No, she would not think that of him, he had done her a favour and she would be grateful to him.
    She reached her cabin and stepped inside, the interior was a welcome coolness. She slipped off her trainers, slid off her backpack then went to the kitchen to prepare something for her dinner. She made a sandwich and ate it sitting on the sofa facing the open fire, which was unlit of course. But she could imagine this place occupied in the winter time by a newly married couple…or even an old married couple…sitting in front of a roaring fire toasting bread or marshmallows and sipping glasses of warm chocolate or punch.
    Suddenly an overwhelming sadness descended upon her, she heard her mother’s words sneering and sarcastic, “ My God, Dela,” her mother often called her Dela, she had once said that he, (he being Adela’s father,) must have been drunk when he had named her, Adela was much too feminine and beautiful a name for her. “ My God, Dela, how on earth do you think you’ll ever get a man looking like you do, with that nose and that forehead, you get those from that man, (again her father),  he was nothing much to look at either. Your brothers of course take after my side of the family, good looking and tall.” ( Adela was only five feet four).
    Adela touched her nose, just as she always had when her mother mentioned it, she had always been conscious of it; she knew it was too big for her face. But as she had got older her face had filled out more and her nose had no longer looked so obvious. That didn’t stop her mother from criticising though, hence the comments about her hair.
    Adela had had boyfriends, not many, three in total including Connor Murphy. None of which had lasted long because she wouldn’t “put out” as they called it. Although when her co-workers and neighbours had heard about her win the single, and even married men, had started to smile at her and wink and two had even come onto her, and she had known their wives. She had said no of course to all of them, she knew what they were after and it wasn’t her mind, nor even or body come to that. She was a sensible woman after all. 
    She knew her neighbours and co-workers laughed at her behind her back, and even to her face. The twenty eight year old spinster with no redeeming features…except her money now of course…locked up with a raging alcoholic and nut case, only leaving the house to go to work ten hours a week.
    Her mother had railed and cursed and sobbed and threatened when Adela had taken the job at the local post office. She couldn’t cope alone she’d said, she die she’d said, she would kill herself she’d said, and it would be all Adela’s fault, ungrateful, selfish girl. But Adela for once had stood her ground and had assured her mother that she would only be working in the mornings, she would be home to take her to her appointments, to cook her meals and clean up after her.
    Nevertheless her mother had made it as hard as possible for her, but Adela had stood firm and had stayed at the post office for two and a half years, even after her mother had died. Later she had taken another job in the evening cleaning elderly people’s homes. Until she had won the money that is.
    Her mother had died three months before this momentous event and had left everything to David and Daniel and not a thing to Adela. Not a piece of jewellery, not an ornament, nothing. David had said she could remain in the house until she found somewhere else to live. She had hardly been able to believe that he was doing this, the house she’d been born in. The house she’d shared with her mother for twenty eight years. The house