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to go where they send me.’
    They were both so tired when they got to the hostel that Carole didn’t think to ask about Emily’s day out again, and so she kept her secret to herself, thinking about it as she tumbled into bed to sleep for hours.
    â€˜What do you mean, Father was worried about the farm?’ Daniel frowned at his eldest brother as they stood talking in the front parlour. ‘What’s the matter? I thought everything was going well.’
    â€˜It has done for years,’ Henry replied grimly. ‘But recently there have been so many new rules and regulations – you’ve no idea how demanding the Food Ministry can be, Dan. Everything has to be checked or rubber-stamped, and we can’t sell our own produce where or when we want; it’s damned red tape all over the place. The profits were down the last year before the war because we had a poor harvest, and lately it has all gone from bad to worse.’
    â€˜That sounds serious.’
    â€˜Not really, not yet,’ Henry said. ‘It might be if things don’t improve, but I’m trying to get on top of all the regulations. You know how much I love paperwork!’
    Daniel smiled at his tall, lanky brother, the tallest of them all. Henry looked tired and more worried than he was letting on, his skin a bit sallow as if he might not be well.
    â€˜I know you are a good farmer, Henry, but Dad was always the one who kept it all together. Neither you nor Clay was keen on school or maths, as I remember.’
    â€˜I can reckon what I need to in my head,’ Henry said ruefully, ‘but when it comes to putting it all down  . . .’ He growled low in his throat. ‘It isn’t my best job. Clay says the farm is too big for us. He wants to scale it down – go off on his own. Trouble is, Father left a bit of it to all of us – the girls, you, Connor and Margaret. The house is hers until she marries again, if she does – and then we have to pay her half what it’s worth.’
    â€˜Sounds a bit complicated,’ Daniel said. ‘What about Margaret’s shares in the farm?’
    â€˜She is willing to sell them now. At least, according to Clay, that’s what she says.’
    â€˜Will that be difficult, in the present circumstances?’
    â€˜Depends how much she wants,’ Henry admitted. ‘Clay thinks she will be reasonable, but I’ve got an idea he’s in for a shock.’
    â€˜I’ve only spoken to her a few times,’ Daniel said, and looked thoughtful. ‘She seems all right to me  . . .’
    â€˜Oh, she’s pleasant enough, but I think she is a schemer. She swept Father off his feet, got him to marry her before he knew where he was – and I think he regretted it.’
    â€˜What makes you say that?’
    â€˜Don’t know,’ Henry admitted. ‘It’s just a hunch. He was in a hell of a mood for weeks before he died. Part of it was the war and the regulations, of course, but there was more to it than that  . . . I think he suspected her of having an affair.’
    â€˜Surely not? They hadn’t been married five minutes.’
    â€˜I think Margaret expected more than she got,’ Henry said shrewdly. ‘They met when he was in London for some function, and it was a whirlwind affair. She saw the house and he spent some money on her, and she thought it was the good life, but then she realized that he didn’t often go to London. She entertains as much as she can here, but it isn’t the same as she was used to in town. I’ve seen some of her friends – rich and idle. She ought to have married one of them, but Dad was an easy mark. I think she will take as much as she can from us and clear off back where she came from.’
    â€˜That’s a bit harsh,’ Daniel said. ‘You can’t know any of this.’
    â€˜I saw her flirting with one of her men friends