Ruth Rendell Mysteries1987

[talking about Sarah Quin and Joseph who used to fancy her when they were teenagers]

Farmer:
You knew she'd work someone up into a real passion one day. Joseph carried a *real* torch for her.

Inspector Masters:
But not Eddie?

Farmer:
No. He was just a simple lad. He wouldn't have harmed a fly. But Joseph: the only way that lad got through the winter was thinking about her coming down during the summer.

Inspector Masters:
Did she like him?

Farmer:
She liked both the lads, but she weren't about to get hitched up at sixteen year old.

Inspector Masters:
Is Joseph still around?

Farmer:
Went away. Made a bit of a fool of his-self over Sarah. Got ragged about it. Couldn't take it. Well it weren't Sarah's fault. What he couldn't understand was that her coming here was just *one* thing that happened in her life, but she was the *only* thing that happened in his.