“You’re saying that I can’t be friends with Martha?” Jack asks Sam, dumbfounded. Well, yes, that’s pretty much the case; Sam’s not prepared to have Jack running to Martha every time things get rough. And she knows just what buttons to press as soon as Jack shows any kind of doubt about her unreasonable ultimatum, because as soon as she threatens to leave, he offers up the answer which she’s so clearly been holding out for: “You and Rory, you belong here with me. Both of you.” As you’ll have guessed, breaking all ties isn’t going to be simple. “I want us to be friends, but this is a compromise that I’m willing to make until Sam feels more secure,” Jack says to a fuming Martha, who can do nothing but huff in reply. It doesn’t get any better, either. “If you can’t see why Sam feels threatened by you, then you’re not trying to look at this from anyone’s point of view but your own,” he concludes, before thanking the former love of his life for making this all so easy for him by behaving as she is. Poor Alf’s on the receiving end of the bitter outburst which follows as Martha tries to come to term’s with her rival’s “territory” issues – and, naturally, his suggestion that Sam may just be trying to protect Rory’s interests doesn’t go down too well. “Jack, a father figure? Don’t make me laugh,” she scoffs, moments before being forced to eat a rather large slice of humble pie as she spots Jack and Rory together on the beach, looking every inch like father and son (yes, no sooner have the pair scattered Shane’s ashes than Rory has already lined up Jack to play daddy). It’s enough to send Martha straight round to see Sam. Surprisingly, it’s not all handbags at dawn, though; Martha manages to stay calm just long enough to tell Sam she respects what she’s trying to do for her son. “Under different circumstances, I think we could have been friends,” she goes on, grudgingly. “I don’t know, maybe we could work on it?” Don’t count on it.

Secrets and lies

At the Campbells’ farm, Geoff is being worked harder than ever and is clearly in need of some distraction. So, what better opportunity than when you’re banned from school to try and do some snooping into Bruce’s hidden treasure trove?

We don’t mean this literally, of course; a locked cabinet harbouring a load of paperwork and some medication (which Geoff doesn’t even notice) is hardly worthy of any excitement – or is it?

Could there be something in Geoff’s parents’ Wills that Bruce has conveniently neglected to mention? While Geoff agonises over whatever it is he’s found, Annie’s left to cover up the evidence of his having been snooping: a broken china box.

But her trip to Yabbi Creek to find a replacement sparks suspicion at school (Don, in particular, is keen to show his authority when it comes to truancy) – and prompts Luc to visit the farm to check on her, mysteriously having forgotten all other dealings with its monstrous proprietor.

Mind you, Bruce’s outrage at finding Luc on his land is nothing compared to what Annie’s just discovered; someone has poisoned the breeding ewes. Bruce has clearly racked up some enemies in the last few weeks, but which of them has just taken their heinous revenge?

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