Chapter 4The whole town turned out to see Kate Sherrin's body being laid to rest the following morning. The Minister presided over the ceremony, and it was clear to see that it cost him just to stand on his own two feet. Not that he made any kind of complaint; but his suffering was underlined by the slow, almost furtive nature of such movements as he was capable of making, and he would clench his teeth every so often, as he strove to cope with the pain.
Under any other circumstances it would have been only normal to expect the Minister to allow someone else to serve in his place, so that he could relax for such time as he might need to recuperate; but nobody even suggested that he step down on this occasion. It was clear to everyone present that while the man's physical suffering might be
