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strength she could still muster. ‘“Teach her your ways, Nano,” she used to say, God bless her sweet soul. Maudie is more dependable, being a bit older. You can go down now, you two. There’s no need for you to spend any more time with a stupid old woman who should have had the decency to make a tidy job of dying instead of landing up like this, a useless weight on the bed and costing good money to feed and nurse.’
    An even longer pause, but when Catrin tried to make an excuse for leaving, she refused to let go her hand. ‘Remember, both of you, I’ve got my best linen nightdress wrapped up in that top drawer for a shroud and I’m leaving all my good dresses and my shoes to my cousin Mary Ann Hopkins in Tregaron, my real pearl necklace to you, Miss Catrin, and my sapphire brooch with seed pearls to Mister Tom’s wife and my three or four books to Mrs Prosser who’s a bit of a bookworm as I was whenever I got the time, which I never did. Go down now please. You’re tiring me with all this chatter.’

    ‘Wouldn’t it be dreadful if Lottie or Maudie left now that they haven’t got Nano to keep an eye on them and order them about. Do you think an extra sixpence a week would keep them happy Tom? What Father used to do was try to hire a really handsome young lad at Michaelmas for the young maids to fall in love with. We’ll have to do that. Tom, let’s be real friends from now on. You don’t have to look after me now, do you? I’m a respectable married woman. You used to be so bossy, so frightened that I’d turn out badly.’
    ‘I’m sure I was. And I needn’t have feared, you didn’t turn out too badly.’
    Mari Elen had bought some humbugs for Nano and her father said she could take them upstairs to her but that she must be down in five minutes.
    She made the most of her time. ‘Miss Rees,’ she said. ‘I’m afraid your face has slipped down on one side.’
    ‘Yes, I’m afraid it has,’ Miss Rees agreed, rather glumly.
    ‘My father thought it best not to tell you, but I think it would be unkind to let you have a shock when you saw yourself in a mirror.’
    ‘I see what you mean.’
    ‘In any case, you’re not young and beautiful like Catrin, for instance. It would be much worse, I think, if her face had collapsed. Perhaps Graham would no longer want to be married to her.’
    ‘Oh, I hope he would. When you get married you promise to love someone in sickness and in health.’
    ‘I don’t think I shall get married. I think I’ll choose to stay with my father and Lowri.’
    ‘I think that would be a very wise move. They’re good people and will never let you down.’
    ‘Anyway I’ll go now, Miss Rees. You won’t worry about your poor face, will you? We’ll all still love you. Or at least I know I will.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    ‘You must remind me to visit poor Miss Rees every day,’ she told Lowri when she got downstairs, ‘I think I cheer her up.’
    ‘Well, perhaps you do,’ Lowri said, but without too much conviction.

Chapter three
    At about three o’clock the following morning when the farm was completely quiet at last, Tom had his first nightmare. His loud screams were terrifying, those of a man at the brink of some unimaginable disaster. Josi rushed in to his bedroom while Lowri stayed to comfort Mari Elen who had been woken by the noise. Catrin was also awake and heard Miss Rees’ bell being rung.
    ‘It’s Mister Tom, poor soul,’ she said as Catrin went in and lit a candle in her room.
    ‘Great heavens, Nano you’re sitting up in bed,’ Catrin said. ‘How wonderful. Graham said that you’d soon be back to normal.’
    ‘Of course I’m sitting up in bed,’ Miss Rees said. ‘How could I remain on my back with no one attending to Mister Tom. Mr Ifans was so slow getting up. I rang the bell, though, because I can’t seem to get myself down again. Could you give me a good heave, Catrin, please, or I’ll be sitting here until the day of judgement.’
    Catrin managed