“Tommy and Hugo were holed up all day in his study, can you believe it? On a day like this! We're supposedly meeting them in the Lobster Pot later for supper, but I'm not holding my breath. And I say ‘we’," she glanced behind, "but Pete's just met some of his buddies. So now I've probably lost him, too." I looked across to where Peter was standing up and chatting animatedly to some boys his age, his cheeks flushed. I recognized one from school. "Can I persuade you two to come along instead?" She leaned forward conspiratorially, including Babs with her darting eyes. "I've got the most horrific cabin fever. If I have to stay in that house another night for dinner, I swear I’ll go crazy. I was tempted to look you up, Babs, see if you fancied another ride."

"Oh, any time. I'm your girl. And frankly I'm astonished you can stay in that woman's house at all."

Janey laughed. "Oh, woah, I didn't quite say that. And anyway, it's Roger's, too, surely?"

“Well …” Babs needed no further prompting. In my peripheral vision, I saw Ted rolling his eyes at me in despairing apology, trying to disentangle himself from the young, so I left Babs and Janey to it. I was reasonably sure Janey had deliberately asked a leading question and wanted all the dirt. Those two were not dissimilar. I made my way towards him.

"I'm besieged!" Ted wailed as we moved along the wall and found a quieter spot.

"It's Goodbye, Mr Chips all over again," I told him. "You've lost all authority and become one of the gang. Slippery slope, I'm afraid."

"Not entirely sure that's what happened to Mr Chips, but I know what you mean. Trouble is, I find them much more entertaining than some of the fossils in my department."

“That's because the fossils have all got spouses and children and you're still living the single life, like this lot." Ah, clever Flora. Investigative stuff. Shona would approve.

He made a face. "Up to a point. I was married, actually."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. Ended in tears?"

“Sadly, yes."

"Whose?"

"Both." He hesitated. "But hers mainly, I guess. I mean, obviously I was sad. But I just wasn't ready. We were students together. Got married far too young."

"Yes, me too, I suppose." I realized it was the first time I'd admitted it might have been a mistake. Both to myself and someone else.

"You regret it?"

"Well, I certainly don't regret Peter." I nodded across the sea of heads in his general direction. “Tall, blond, stripy blue shirt."

He followed my gaze. Then his eyes widened. “Gosh, you did marry young."

I laughed. "He looks older than he is. He's only seventeen."

“Still. Don't know what I've been doing with my life." He sank gloomily into his beer.

"None in your camp, then?"