While the white duck has been sitting patiently on her nest in the duck run, the tortoiseshell duck has been appearing once or twice a day outside the duck run emerging from the laurel bushes that surround the run on two sides.  We have left a bowl of water and a dish of food for Mrs Duck and she makes use of them when she wishes.  I have hunted along one side of the laurel but could not find the nest.  Then, this afternoon, just before the first guests arrived I found a beautiful, yellow duckling lying on the ground in the courtyard.  Soft and still warm but with its eyes closed and immobile.  I picked it up, stroked it and hoped to see a flutter of life but there was none.  I put the dead duckling in a small basket and dove into the courtyard side of the laurel and there was tortoiseshell duck,sitting on her nest.  I wanted to move mother and nest to a safe place but needed to wait for Jeremy’s help.  He got  under the bush, handed me the duck and slid the nest and two newly hatched duckling onto a piece of board.  We processed, with care, to the nursery run that the three adolescent ducklings and their two mothers had only recently vacated. Tortoisehll is now sitting on some unhatched eggs as well as two,small ducklings that may or may not “make it tonight”.  Good luck.