‘Enough blue in the sky to make a sailor a pair of trousers, my auntie used to say. Everything is ready for dinner; there’s a pie under a tea towel on the cold shelf in the larder so that’s ready to go in the oven at five, and the potatoes are peeled and covered in water in the pan, but I haven’t added the salt yet. And there’s a jug of that sweet onion gravy that Master Finlay likes.’

‘Thank you.’ Ursula really wanted to know what Isobel’s plans were but there wasn’t a question-sized gap in the conversation.

‘There’s a fruit flan for pudding. I mean dessert. That’s in the larder too. You just need to put cream with it. There might be a few more raspberries ripe in the patch down the garden that you can add if you like.’

‘Won’t you be back by six?’ It wasn’t like Isobel to be late. She had been so appreciative of the extra hours she now had to herself and always strived to make sure that her routine didn’t disrupt the household.

‘I expect so. I’m meeting a friend for an hour and she doesn’t have as much time off as I do, so her afternoon is precious. I don’t want to be late.’

Ursula nodded and poured herself another cup of tea.

The locksmith on Bread Street had been most helpful when Ursula had visited, and had supplied not just the lock and the new doorknobs, but also a rather pretty door knocker, and she had booked a lock fitter to install them all. He was coming this afternoon, while Isobel was out. It was to be a surprise.

*

It was well past seven o’clock when Isobel returned. She rushed in through the scullery door, gasping for breath, and found Ursula washing the last of the plates.

Isobel was horrified. ‘What are you doing?’

‘You weren’t back, so I decided to wash up. It’s not difficult, and I didn’t want you to come back to a pile of dirty dishes. It’s a lovely evening and everyone else has gone out for a walk.’ Ursula wiped her hands on the towel that hung behind the door. ‘I didn’t want to go with them because I have a blister from my new shoes.’

‘Right, I’ll get my apron and if you would like to leave the rest of it now, I’ll finish up.’

‘There isn’t anything to leave, it’s all done. Really, it was just a few plates. You did all the dishes from the baking this morning. Don’t forget that I lived alone before I came to Library Terrace so I’m not a stranger to hot water and soft soap. We kept some pie and some dessert for you.’