JL Merrow

Stranded in a remote country village in 1920s England when his car breaks down, shy young Arthur finds himself drawn to the rough mechanic who comes to his aid, Bob Goodman. Forced to stay until the May Day holiday is over, Arthur makes the best of it, enjoying the village procession and fete.<br><br>But the villagers seem to know more about him than they should, and there’s a second, darker, May celebration that starts when the sun’s gone down. In the drunken revelry that follows, Arthur is whisked off in a wild dance by Goodman, who plays the part of Jack in the Green, the spirit of the greenwood.<br><br>Dancing turns to loving, but is everything what it seems? And is one night all Arthur can have?

Jack in the Green

“Well, sir, there’s the thing.” Goodman leaned back upon the bar, a picture of ease and confidence. The position made his shoulders strain at the seams of his checked shirt and displayed his chest to full advantage. Arthur took a hasty gulp of his pint and spluttered slightly as a little of it went down the wrong way. “She’s going to be needing a new fan belt.”


Goodman nodded slowly, giving Arthur a considering look. “Well, sir, there’s two ways we might go about this. I can fix her up all right—you might have done so yourself, sir, if you’d been the sort of gentleman as might happen to have a lady’s stocking about his person—and you’d be on your way in a jiffy, but with no guarantee you wouldn’t be having another breakdown ten mile down the road. Or,” he paused significantly, “I can send a wire off to town tomorrow and set her up proper. If you don’t mind biding with us a while longer.”


Chapter 4