to the mills. Tonight we shall celebrate Henry’s return.”

“It is a good thing you did not return a month later, Henry,” his uncle laughed. “The fatted calf could not be eaten during Lent, even for you.”

“There is nothing prodigal about Henry,” his father chided. “He is as selfless a man as you shall ever know. Not a trait he learnt from his uncle, I must say.”

“Deride me as you wish, Tobias. It is my selfishness that pays for you to continue living here. Of course I shall stay for Henry’s feast. I shall travel north in the morning.”

Fotherby watched as his uncle walked out from the house before he turned back to his father who just shook his head.

“As you see, Henry, your uncle’s approach to life is unaltere...

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