Sidney’s eyes sparkled. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, not only have we found our blend today, I think I may have found my new apprentice.’

Matt and Clare raised their glasses to that and I smiled at my lovely new friends. I was falling in love with life at the vineyard. In an ideal world, I’d love to be an apprentice, maybe even go back to college and take a course in viticulture. But the reality was very different; this was a summer job and Betsy had only promised Ted that she’d stay here long enough to gather in this year’s harvest. And then there was the small matter of my pregnancy; I was putting off making any firm plans, or even vague ones, until I’d seen the midwife tomorrow. But despite the transient position I found myself in, I really couldn’t imagine giving the baby up. Which meant by winter I’d be about to bring a child into the world, which was hardly the best time to start studying. Plus, I’d be jobless and homeless too. And the thought of that was breaking my heart.

The Thursday antenatal clinic was very busy, but thankfully I didn’t bump into anyone I knew; even receptionist Nicky, Dad’s tenant, wasn’t there. I wanted more information about this pregnancy before I started passing the news on to others. After introducing myself to Issy the midwife and answering some questions, it was time for my first weigh-in. I glanced at the dial and gulped.

‘Okay,’ said Issy, making a note on the computer, ‘you can get down now and put your shoes back on.’

I stepped off gladly and slipped on my trainers. What a shocker! I’d never been so heavy in my life and my pregnancy wasn’t even showing yet. At this rate, by the time the baby was due, I’d need one of those weighbridges they use to measure lorries before they get on ferries.

‘Do you know how far on I’m likely to be?’ I asked her.

She shook her head, making her ponytail swing from side to side. She was probably younger than me, had grey-blue eyes, a round face, a bulky watch on one wrist and a tattoo of a bumble bee on the other.

‘Not just by looking at you, no,’ she said. ‘And because you have carried on having periods, we can’t even work it out. But I’d say definitely less than nine months.’

‘Very funny,’ I said, liking her instantly. ‘I’ve read stories about women who give birth without even knowing they’d been pregnant, and I thought they were made up. I feel bad now.’

Issy strapped a cuff around my arm, popped her stethoscope on and pumped up the blood pressure monitor. She let it down with a hiss of air and nodded. ‘Normal. Excellent.’

She began typing information into the computer.