‘To be honest, I don’t know any other attractive women in the area I could ask, so I’m thrilled you said yes.’

Gilly laughed. ‘I think I’d better end the call now,’ she said. ‘Ring me when you know the details.’

She went round the house in a haze of happiness, wishing she had someone she could tell about this rather surprising conversation. She didn’t want to tell Helena because she didn’t want to have to explain that she’d had the house valued. She would go mad with rage at her brother and sister-in-law. No, she just wanted to enjoy the anticipation. Going to a big local event with an attractive man was a real ego boost. She was going to savour every second of the event, and the run-up to it.

But Gilly’s joy was marred by the burden of knowing how much her house was worth. While it was lovely in some ways, was it fair of her to sit on a property valuable enough to give both her children sizeable amounts of cash and leave enough for her to buy a little cottage somewhere? Probably not.

She was researching high-end picnic options when her son rang her. ‘Martin? Is everything all right?’

‘Mum! Does there always have to be something the matter? I just rang for a chat. That’s OK, isn’t it?’

‘It’s very OK, darling, it’s just very unheard of. You’re always so busy!’

‘Yes, well, we have plans to change that. We’ve decided we need to reassess our lives. We just don’t get enough time together as a family.’

‘Oh, darling, that’s wonderful! Little Issi – I mean Ismene – won’t be little for long; they grow up so fast. You don’t want to have missed it. Either of you.’

‘I’m so glad you agree, Mum. So you’re thinking about our suggestion? You need to cut down on the hours you work too.’

‘Running my own B & B is hardly the same as a high-powered, full-time job!’

‘It is very hard work. You’re always saying so.’

‘Yes, it is hard work but I do love it.’

‘You could love it just as much if you did it a bit less.’

Gilly was aware that she was breathing too quickly. She knew what Martin meant and it was making her anxious. ‘Sorry, I’m not with you. I could cut down on the number of rooms I let but then I wouldn’t have a profitable business. Then it would just be the work without the money.’

‘What we’re suggesting is that if you sold Fairacres, and we bought the house we showed you online, you could run a couple of the extra rooms as B & B rooms and the extra income would mean me and Cress could work less intensively.’