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He recovered quickly, sliding that too-bright-to-trust smile back into place. ‘You got it, babe. Just tell me what you want.’

‘Again, my name is Angela.’ The headache was getting worse, and she couldn’t wait until she was done, and could drag her aching body to the comfort of the sofa. ‘Follow me, please.’ She led him through to another shed where she stored equipment, including spare cages and enclosures. Lifting up an old blanket she pointed to one of the large runs. ‘Could you grab that please?’

He did as she asked, heaving the bulky cage up and holding it awkwardly. It took her a few moments to realise he was trying to hold it away from his clothes, and had to hide a smile. He was going to have to learn — fast — that dirt had a tendency to happen around animals. But he followed her without complaint as she gathered up bedding and the shallow, solid dishes she needed for food and water.

‘Right.’ She opened up the small barn, dumping the blankets onto the floor. ‘Put that over the top please, and make sure it’s level. Then those—’ she pointed to bricks in the corner ‘—go on top. One in each corner where the frame meets.’

‘Like this?’

‘Perfect. Now we go get her ladyship and settle her in.’

Ernie brayed loudly, and Angela had to hide another grin as Rick almost levitated. ‘What the hell was that?’

‘That is a donkey. And I really would appreciate it if you knocked the swearing on the head.’

He gave her a confused look. ‘Hell’s not a swear word.’

‘I say it is, and it’s my barn, so my rules.’

‘Are you fucking serious?’

‘Yes. I. Am.’ She glared at him.

‘Why?’

‘Because I don’t like swearing. And there are kids around here often enough that it’s a bad habit to get into.’

‘For fuc . . .’ He trailed off under her glare. ‘You’re not joking, are you?’

‘Nope. I really, really don’t like it. And animals can be very sensitive. No animal comes to Bill’s without some sort of trauma. I like to keep things as calm around here as possible for them.’

‘You do know they can’t understand English, right?’

‘They understand a lot more than you think, and even if they don’t understand the words they understand the tone. So we don’t swear here, thank you.’

‘Right.’ He nodded slowly, clearly thinking. ‘So, if you like . . . dropped one of these bricks on your foot, what would you say?’

‘Ouch.’

‘And if an animal bit or scratched you? That happens, right?’ He waited for her nod. ‘You’d just say “ouch” then, would you?’

‘I might ask them to let go.’

‘Right.’ He shook his head, and she was convinced his lips were twitching like he wanted to laugh at her.

‘Look, I know, in the grand scheme of things, swearing might seem like nothing to you. But I firmly believe in things like karma, and that you attract the same energy you put out into the world. Swearing is almost always negative, and there’s enough bad in the world without adding to it, don’t you think?’

Put like that, it didn’t not make sense, she thought. He seemed unsure what to say, so instead wandered over to take a look at the donkey. ‘I think the last time I saw one of these, it was at the seaside, and I got to ride it.’

‘Yeah, we don’t really do that here.’

‘Right, sorry. I guess they don’t like that.’

‘Sometimes they do. But not my little drove.’

‘Your drove?’

‘My little herd. There’s four of them. This here is Ernie — the jack. And there’s three jennets — Petunia, Poppy and Jolie.’