‘Not much of a signal at Nelson’s Bar,’ Clancy acknowledged. ‘How’s everything with you?’ She got up and moved away from the others. Alice was in a chatty mood, asking about Aunt Brenda and Uncle Gerry, Clancy’s mum and dad, before moving the conversation on.

‘Your emails have been making me think about Nelson’s Bar and Roundhouse Row quite a bit. For the last few years I’ve been absorbing the income stream without much emotional engagement – or not once the hoo-ha over big bro Aaron buying Lee out was over.’ She laughed again. ‘What a pain in the arse he was over that, obsessing over details! Anyway, I thought it might be nice to have a catch-up about what’s going on.’

Clancy frowned, puzzled. ‘I told you in my first email that I was living in the Roundhouse and doing the caretaker’s job because my engagement’s off.’

‘You’re living in the Roundhouse itself?’ Alice asked.

‘Just like the last caretaker did,’ Clancy confirmed. ‘Is there a problem with that?’

‘Not at all,’ Alice replied. ‘So you and Will are definitely over?’

Clancy snorted. ‘He’s married Renée, so my guess is yes.’

With a horrified gasp, Alice demanded full details and it was a while before Clancy ended the call and returned to her seat and went back to checking her messages, seeing one from Tracey saying: I understand Will’s contacted you. I hope you weren’t too upset. It would be lovely to hear from you. Then a sad face emoticon shedding a tear.

Clancy felt quite touched. Was her sense of betrayal becoming blunted? It was mid-June, four whole weeks since she’d packed up her life and sought sanctuary in Nelson’s Bar. It seemed longer. She had a new routine. Knew new people, although not many of them very well yet and one or two – she glanced over at where Norma was holding forth to Ernie and Dilys – weren’t madly friendly.

She was enjoying the pace of her new life. The only deadlines she had to meet were created by guests moving in and out of 4, 5 and 6 Roundhouse Row.

She tried to summon up the awful sensation of let-down she’d felt that afternoon the others had confronted her in the meeting room but it wouldn’t quite fly into focus. Monty had been out of order but Asila and Tracey had been on her side when he’d wanted to ‘leak’ the lie that it had been Clancy on the table.

Now, she thought she could remember Tracey saying, ‘Clance, we’re all worried about you—’ Clancy had the uncomfortable feeling she’d refused to listen.

She thought about the years they’d been together. Then she began a new email to Tracey.

Hi Tracey,

Sorry to be out of contact so much. Circumstances have dictated. Thanks for trying to warn me about Will and Renée’s wedding. She paused to read that phrase again. The first shock was over now. Will did tell me himself. It knocked me for six to start off with but it’s over between us and I’m enjoying my new life. She paused, wondering whether Will would ever have agreed to live somewhere as rural as Nelson’s Bar. They’d once been in a pub debate about Londonites downsizing to the country and he’d said, ‘By the time I’m forty I want to move to some shire or other and raise goats.’ She hadn’t been able to see it, then, and she couldn’t now.