They troop into the hall. ‘That’s my room, next to the kitchen, and then there’s the downstairs shower room, I use that one. And this is the big drawing room; we’ve had some great parties in here.’ She catches the older girl whispering something to her younger sister.

She leads the way upstairs. ‘Up here there are three bedrooms and a bathroom and the parlour, which is the poshest room in the house. In normal times we usually keep the parlour as a guest bedroom so there’s plenty of space for people to stay if the lodgers want that. I usually have two lodgers at a time but there are sometimes three. There’s no one at the moment, though.’ She turns to look at him. ‘And that’s it.’

The girls have disappeared into the parlour and she can hear their voices, but not exactly what they are saying.

‘I’ll leave you to have a think without me peering over your shoulder. Take your time and have a proper look. Just come up to the end of the garden when you’ve finished. The owner and her husband will be here shortly, I think. I’ll introduce you when they arrive.’

It will be strange to share the house again after almost a year, she thinks. To begin with she had struggled with the emptiness and the echoes. But she had begun to enjoy the silence, and the fact that she didn’t have to consider anyone else. She alternates between relishing the peace and careering from room to room so quickly she thinks her bones are rattling. At times she fears her voice might dry up with lack of use. But the house is not meant for one person. She remembers Georgia saying that. The silence is nice, but it isn’t the purpose of the place. It’s time for whatever comes next.

Chapter 80

July 2021

They all sit around the two picnic benches under the plum tree at the bottom of the garden.

‘Tell me, Mr Weaver, how did you come to know Fiona?’ asks Georgia.

‘It was three years ago. She was my solicitor after Zoe died.’ He realises that more explanation is required. ‘My wife. She collapsed at work and was blue-lighted into hospital. They found she had sepsis, and she died six days later. There was no time for anything, no plans, no preparation for the girls. It was brutal. We hadn’t made wills or even talked about all the what-ifs. That had always seemed like an old person’s thing. It took a while to sort everything out and Fiona was the person who did it for us.’

Tess realises that this is why Fiona has been nagging her about making a will.

‘And your family?’ Georgia continues.