Isobel was ready for the question. ‘What we’ve been doing for the last few weeks was taken from the menu from the Café, but I think I can do better than that now.’ She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and read from it. ‘Lentil Rissoles, page twenty-four. You can have those instead of meatballs.’

Ursula turned the pages of the little book. ‘Right. What else?’

‘Onion Tart, page twenty-six. I can make two, and just put bacon in one of them.’

Ursula turned the page and nodded agreement.

‘Macaroni Cheese, page thirty-one.’ Isobel was just warming up. ‘Everyone will eat that. I might even be able to make a macaroni cheese pie; I’ve seen them in the bakers, although they don’t appear in this particular book. But there are other pies, and I can make almost anything into a pie if I think hard enough about it.’

Ursula smiled. ‘Mr Black does like his pies.’

‘I’ll make a different pie for another day, and I’ll make two, like the tarts, so one has meat in it and the other doesn’t. Oh yes, and on the bottom of the page before the macaroni, there is a nut roast, just like the one you told me about. I’ve never made such a thing, but I could do a small one for you to try, and if you like it then you could have that instead of whatever roast meat everyone else is having on a Sunday. At least you won’t only be having potatoes and veg and Yorkshire pudding.’

‘True. Trying to hide the fact that I haven’t eaten the meat on my plate, just to stop Finlay asking questions, has been rather tiresome.’

Ursula counted up on her fingers. ‘That’s five things, if we include the nut roast.’

‘I found a curry too, it’s back on page twenty-four beside the rissoles.’

‘A curry.’ Ursula leaned back a little in the kitchen chair. ‘Have the family ever had curry before?’

‘Not in my time. But it would be easy enough to make one for the family from the leftover roast, and you could have whatever vegetables you liked in yours. Carrots are nice and sweet, and perhaps some sultanas. And what about ham in a tomato sauce with rice, for them, just seasoned a little bit, and you could have a risotto instead?’

Ursula nodded and held out her hands with fingers outstretched. ‘Seven.’

‘Page twenty-one. Butter Beans with Parsley Sauce. That would work just as well with a couple of pieces of haddock for everyone else. And Miss Ann isn’t that keen on fish anyway so she might join you.’

‘That’s eight meals now.’ Ursula closed the book. ‘Goodness but this is difficult.’

‘I don’t think it is, not really. And especially when you think how over-and-over again the meals have been for the last two years, and before that as well.’