she snarled as though I had insulted her personally. âWhy do you ask so many questions?â âWhy is this village so different to any other in Britain?â I cut in. âIâll not even attempt to answer that one,â she snapped âAll I can tell you is to get away from here for your own safety.,... before itâs too late!â Her comment was most sinister but, before I could ask her what she meant by that, she turned on her heel and walked away into the distance. I wasnât angry at her insistence that I should leave the village. In fact it reinforced my will to remain. I could not understand why she should be so vehement about my departure. It was time to have my evening meal and I made my way to the cafeteria. Before I arrived there, the young McBain boy came running towards me along the path. I expected him to run past me but he stopped as he reached me and took hold of my arm firmly. âSir1â he cried out in a squeaky voice. âYouâve got to help me. Youâve got to help all of us! You must!â âWhatâs your name?â I asked with concern. Surely there couldnât be an emergency in Numbwinton with only me to deal with it. I looked around to check whether any of the houses were on fire but nothing led me to believe that this was so. âItâs Robert,â he told me, breathing heavily from the effort of running along the path. âYou must help me!â âYouâre Robert McBain,â I responded slowly. Bridget McBainâs son. What do you need me to help you with?â Is it your homework?â He suddenly went silent as though a curtain fell in front of his eyes and he became very uncertain of what he wanted to say. My words seemed to have knocked the stuffing out of him because he fell completely silent. âCome on, lad!â I urged. âSpit it out! Itâs no use bottling it up inside you!â He shook his head. âNo... I canât tell you,â he replied as though guided by an invisible force. âYou wouldnât believe me. Youâre a stranger in the village. You wouldnât understand.â The hairs on the back of my head stood on end as anger began to rise within me. If anyone referred to me as a stranger again I would gladly throttle them. âTry me... I might understand.â I retorted. âNo... you wouldnât! Youâre a stranger!â âGoddam it!â I swore. âIâm a Briton with every right to be here. Every right. I was born in this country, so Iâm not a stranger!â I turned to the boy so that he was facing me directly. âNow tell me what your problem is or forever hold your peace! Iâll not be messed about!â He grimaced as if he wanted to tell me something but couldnât find the right words, then he turned to run back along the path to his home. I followed him until I came to the McBain house and knocked on the door. Bridget answered and stared at me in surprise. âIs there something you want?â she asked in her cool lilting manner that sent an emotional shiver running down my spine. âYour son, Robert, stopped me on my way to the cafeteria,â I told her frankly. âHe seemed very upset but he wouldnât speak to me about it. Is he all right?â âYes... heâs fine,â she responded. âCome inside and see for yourself.â I paused and then decided to take her up on the offer. There was no harm in having a cup of tea with the woman. She was so lovely to look at that it would be a pleasure to be in her company. She led me into the small lounge and sat opposite me. It was still strange to me to enter a room without a television set or a hi-fi, or a telephone and nothing electronic. âWhat do you do with yourself in the evenings?â I asked politely. âI read, â she replied. âThereâs a wealth of good books here. On one evening each month thereâs