They took the short walk to the car. ‘Nicky’s been a bit annoyed with her bridegroom Martin for not entering into the spirit of things, but maybe that’s natural.’

‘I expect Martin feels it’s all a bit much. A lot of bridegrooms do.’ Jo opened the car door for Ronnie. ‘I hope it’s all right, but I’ve set some meetings up for this afternoon. We thought you’d want to get the flowers sorted out quickly so you could get home,’ she hinted gently.

The hint was lost on Ronnie. She pushed her seat back as far as it would go and stretched luxuriously. ‘Don’t worry, I’m in no hurry. A bit of French sunshine’s just what I need.’

Terrific.

Philippe sat in his tiny office with his phone in his hand, willing himself to call Meredith. For God’s sake, he kept telling himself, you’re not some adolescent trying to fix a first date; you’re a grown man!

‘Bonjour, Meredith,’ he finally greeted her, stressing the syllables of her name to recall the joke they’d shared about it.

After some inconsequential chat, he got straight to the point. Meredith, he knew, was a woman of decision. ‘Are you free for dinner again one of these nights? I have found a delightful little restaurant in the hills a few miles away.’ He paused, then added, ‘It is a restaurant with rooms.’

It was the laugh in his voice that won Meredith over. With engaging subtlety he managed to convey that he was in no way assuming she would accept, and yet he very much hoped that she would do so. It was a hard course to steer, and he did it brilliantly.

If she were French, Meredith would have pretended to hesitate now, enjoying the cat-and-mouse game of flirtation; but being Meredith, she had no time for such time-wasting tricks. ‘I would very much enjoy that,’ she replied instantly. ‘On both counts.’

‘I am delighted to hear it – and a little relieved.’

This time, they laughed together.

After he’d said goodbye Meredith stood in front of the long mirror in her boudoir holding up an expensive-looking silk nightdress and smiling to herself. Her body wasn’t too bad for someone her age but she’d feel more confident covering it up, at least at first. Older bodies were like expensive gifts. The more wrapping they came in, the better.

She glanced down at the ever-faithful Nelly and found the animal fixing her with a pathetic, imploring gaze.

‘Yes, Nelly. Maybe I’ve finally found a man I could really like; and no, Nelly, you are not coming on our dirty Wednesday. At least, I hope it’s going to be dirty.’ She put her arms round Nelly’s soft, wrinkled neck. ‘Oh, Nelly. I feel ridiculously excited, and a bit scared at the same time!’