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between two trees in the garden at the front of the house. A good blow in the fresh air was what all these clothes and the linen needed. She glanced down at the coarse skirt and dirty pinafore she was wearing. She wished she could wash her own clothes, but she had nothing to change into and with that cheeky Matthew about, she dare not risk it.
    She was possing the clothes in the rinsing tub when he appeared again, startling her as she caught sight of him standing silently in the doorway. She dropped the posser suddenly and cold water splashed her face.
    ‘Oh – ya made me jump!’ she said with annoyance. ‘What ya doing here? Shouldn’t ya be at work?’ Sweat plastered strands of hair to her forehead. Her cheeks were red with exertion.
    ‘I’ve come back to see you.’ Matthew grinned and took a step nearer.
    She raised her hands, palms outward, as if to fend him off. ‘No, there’ll be trouble – I dun’t want to lose this job. I’ve come a long way and there’s nowhere for me to go back to, so – so don’t spoil it for me, please?’ she pleaded.
    Teasing, he said. ‘It’ll cost you, seeing as ’ow you’ve taken it from under Beth’s nose,’ and without giving her a chance to argue, he walked away across the yard, a new arrogance in his stride. He turned once, shouted, ‘I’ll see you later,’ gave her a saucy wink and a wave and then he was gone.
    Esther felt herself hot all over and knew it was not the steaming water and the activity of wash-day that had caused it.

Five
    H E
was waiting in the yard when she finally finished in the wash-house that evening.
    ‘What are you doin’ here? You haven’t finished milking, have ya?’
    ‘Haven’t started,’ he replied boldly, and stood before her to bar her way back into the house.
    Esther gasped at his audacity and her green eyes glittered. ‘You’ll have Mester Brumby after you. It should’ve been done hours ago!’
    ‘I can handle Sam Brumby.’
    Esther was at once sceptical. ‘Now you’re bragging, Master Matthew.’
    ‘Well now,’ he said softly, his eyes roaming over her face. ‘At least you’ve stopped calling me “boy”.’
    She could feel his breath warm upon her cheek as he added, ‘I thought mebbe we could take a little walk. I could show you around, like. I could show you where it’s safe to walk on the beach – and where it’s dangerous.’
    ‘And how do I know you’re not the biggest danger out there?’
    Matthew threw back his head and laughed. ‘You don’t,’ he said. ‘You really don’t know.’
    Esther made no attempt to rebuff him further. She felt like taking a walk and she was curious to find out more about this place. Since the morning she had arrived at Fleethaven Point she had not left Brumbys’ Farm. But now Sam was some distance away in the field which lay adjacent to the neighbouring farmer’s – Top End, he called it. He would not return until after dark. She could spare half an hour . . .
    She fell into step beside Matthew. Whistling through his teeth, he swaggered jauntily across the lane and led her beneath the trees growing on the dunes. They climbed to the highest point and paused to catch their breath whilst Esther looked about her, soaking up the feel of the land. Already, she felt an affinity with this place. She shaded her eyes against the red glow of the evening sun and let her gaze travel round, trying to gauge the extent of Sam’s holding.
    Brumbys’ Farm lay with its front windows facing the flat land that stretched westward. About a mile inland were the tall chimneys of a large house surrounded by trees.
    ‘What’s that place?’ she asked Matthew. He came and stood close behind her placing his hands lightly on her shoulders and putting his cheek against her hair.
    Following the line of her pointing finger he said, ‘That’s the Grange where Squire Marshall lives. He owns most of the land around here.’
    ‘And over there – those buildings?’ Esther was pointing to the