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far.`
    `He's all Irish, Daniel, 99 whereas the others aren't. What I mean by that is, there's something there in his make-up that both frightens and fascinates me. At times I see him as something out of folklore. You know what I mean?`
    He didn't exactly, but he nodded at her.
    With a gentle smile she turned away from him and he watched her walk across the field. She was big in the hips now and had put on weight all round and her body swayed as she picked her way over the uneven ground. For a moment he wondered why he had been so concerned about the revelation of his mother's diary, because there went all the mothers he had ever longed for rolled into one, and he knew that he loved her as if she herself had given him birth ...
    Later that day he was at the far end of their land where a low brick wall cut the field off from the bridle path. He had been replacing coping stones on the top of the wall in the way Bob Shearman had shown him, when along the path came two young girls, and when they were abreast of him they stopped and both smiled at him, and one after the other both said, `Hello, Daniel.`
    Daniel looked first at Frances Talbot;
    in fact, he let his eyes linger on her because, as he put it to himself, she looked all golden, dressed as she was in a light fawn coat that reached the top of her light tan boots; while her hat was not a bonnet but one of those that had an upturned brim and a high crown and it showed off her hair and the fair ringlets hanging down to her shoulders. Her eyes were blue and her full lips red, and the skin on her face he likened to the top of the cream in the dairy.
    Then his eyes lifted to her companion. He had never before taken much stock of Janie Farringdon, because she was what he supposed you called homely looking; she did not draw your eye. Yes, she had nice hair; it was brown but quite straight. He had never before really looked at her face. He supposed her eyes were of a greeny-grey, and her mouth was large, too large for beauty. As for her skin, well, compared with that of Frances, you could almost say it was dull. And she was taller than Frances, tending to be lanky.
    Àre you glad you've left school, Daniel?`
    He shrugged his shoulders before answering Frances, saying, `Some days yes, and some days no.`
    Then on a smile he said, Èvery day 101 I don't really know.Ànd at this both the girls laughed and Frances said, Ì'm glad I left.`
    `Yes, but you can stay in the house all day.`
    He looked at Janie. She had a nice voice. She was of the same age as Frances but she sounded older.
    More in order to keep his gaze away from Frances he spoke to her, saying, `You're still at school, Janie?`
    `Yes, worse luck. Father says I'm there for another couple of years at least, till I'm eighteen.`
    Àre you going in for a career? I mean, what are you going to do?`
    Òh, I don't know.` She made a small movement with her head.
    `Get married, of course.` This was brought out from Frances on a giggle, and when Janie replied stiffly,
    `Not necessarily, Frances,àn awkward silence fell on the three of them, until Frances said flatly, `Well, what else is there for us?` to which Janie replied, `Don't be silly.`
    Frances had turned her glance from Janie on
    to Daniel and he, feeling the colour rising to his face, could resort only to flippancy by saying, `You could go on the stage.`
    Both girls laughed together now; then apropos of nothing that had been referred to in the short conversation, Frances said, `Janie's mother takes us into Fellburn every Saturday. We visit the shops, then go round the market`--she turned to Janie--`don't we?`
    Janie lowered her eyes for a moment, then answered, `Yes.`
    `You take your stock into the market on a Saturday, don't you?` Frances remarked now.
    `No, I don't; the men do.`
    Òh.`
    `Come on. Come on; we must get home,ànd Janie took hold of her friend's arm and tugged her away; and as Frances tripped sideways she laughed and called out `Bye-bye, Daniel,ànd he