Ursula reached for the last lonely piece of toast on the rack. ‘That’s mostly true, as far as it goes, but Finlay’s life is not going to be a carefree sprint from lecture to tearoom with no work required in between. If he wants to succeed, he will have to work very hard.’ She spread the toast with salted butter. ‘Aren’t you looking forward to seeing your friends again?’

‘I suppose. Some of them have been away from Edinburgh for weeks and weeks. I’m not sure I would want to do that. I like being here with you and Isobel and I have my herb garden. I mean who would take care of all the watering it if I wasn’t here? We haven’t had any rain since the start of the summer. I have been counting the days off in my diary.’ Ann frowned. ‘Imagine if there isn’t any rain until September. We might have no water in the taps, and my plants will die.’

‘I don’t think it will come to that.’ Ursula sincerely hoped the weather would break soon. Her corsets were extremely uncomfortable and getting very stained with perspiration. ‘If there is only one week of your holidays left, we must make the most of it. What would you like to do apart from going to buy new pencils? Perhaps a new book? Or I could take you for lunch at Café Vegetaria?’

‘I’m not sure.’

‘Would you like to help me put some pictures into my album, now that your father has collected them from the photographer?’

Ann brightened a little. ‘Could I have some photographs of everyone? You know, in frames, so I could put them on my dressing table.’

‘I don’t see why not.’

‘You and Finlay and Father. I would like to be able to see the pictures when I get up in the morning and before I go to bed at night.’

‘But you see us all every day anyway.’

‘Nonetheless,’ Ann tried the word out, ‘I would like to have photographs of my own.’ All signs of lethargy gone, she slid off the chair. ‘I will get ready straight away and we can make a start. Do you know what we are having for dinner tonight?’

‘Haricot bean and tomato casserole with sage and walnut dumplings.’ Despite the heat, Ursula knew this news would be well received.

‘That sounds lovely, dumplings are my favourite.’ Ann’s shoes clattered along the tiled floor in the hall, and as she put her foot on the first of the carpeted stairs, she began to count under her breath.

*