Will was shaking. He wasn’t sure if it was anger or frustration. Stupid, stupid man. How could he have expected him to defend him? He hadn’t wanted to say those things, hadn’t wanted to hear them, but he did. And that was the way of the world. Men like him were ridiculed, reviled, and punished. It was just how it was.
He went outside to the woodshed and brought in more logs. He went and straightened the bed and tidied the bedroom, checking his box was in the right place, carelessly placed among the junk. As he looked at it, a thought occurred to him. He went and took the pages from his newspaper he had read and done with, and then took the box. Once he had worked the intricate lock, he took out thirty pounds, hesitated, and then added another twenty. He wrapped the bank notes in the newsp
