Ann went back to the beginning and read the letter again.

She calmed down and started to talk to the empty room, a habit formed in the two years of living alone.

‘Where will she sleep? She can’t go back up to the maid’s room, that’s totally inappropriate for a woman of her age.’ Ann opened her diary to a page at the back and lifted one of the freshly sharpened pencils from the jam jar which lived within easy reach on the big table.

‘I wonder if she has furniture. How might that be transported?’

She wrote:

ISOBEL

Furniture?

Move?

Which room?

When?

‘There are enough beds and wardrobes here in the house. Maybe we could both move upstairs. Isobel could have Finlay’s room.’ She shook her head immediately, rejecting that particular option. ‘Or maybe my old room? And we might be needing a dining room again eventually. I suppose I could have the main bedroom, although not right away.’

She retrieved a sheet of paper from the desk in her room and came back to the kitchen table to write.

My dear Isobel,

What dreadful news.

You may, of course, come back here. This is a generous house for one person. I didn’t tell you before, but I came close to selling it last year. So much has happened since I last wrote properly in November, and there wasn’t space to squeeze it all onto your Christmas card.

As you know, Ursula and I kept Black’s running with a manager in place until she died, but it was very difficult. Even with legal help, finding a buyer for the company and dealing with the sale was exhausting, despite being very necessary. I simply couldn’t continue with it any longer. Father had always hoped that Finlay would come back after university and take over the reins. Ursula and I did our best as his substitutes, but the wholesalers didn’t want to deal with women, no matter how competent, and by October last year I had come to the decision that it was time to close the doors. The sale finally went through last month. It was a sad day and I’m not sure quite what I will do with my time but I confess that I am relieved. It has been hard to manage everything alone, these last two years.

My solicitor told me that in the current economy, it is not a good moment to try to dispose of a large house either, so after reading your letter today, it seems fortuitous that I listened to his advice and stayed here at number 25.

You must come back as soon as possible. If Ursula were still here, I’m sure she would agree with me.

Please use the enclosed to buy your train ticket. And if you need to arrange for furniture and other things to be moved then let me know.

Yours,

Ann