‘That’s all? Huh!’ His jaw was set like stone. ‘I arrive to tell you— Well, anyway, that can wait, and I find you in a tug-of-war contest with a tree while your dad’s waving a chainsaw literally millimetres from your unborn child.’

I swallowed. When he put it like that, it did seem a bit rash.

‘I thought you liked it when I did crazy stuff?’ I murmured, attempting to make him smile. What had he come to tell me?

He shook his head. ‘I am so mad with you right now.’

I looped my arms around his neck and clung on. I didn’t care; I was still glad to see him.

He carried me across the yard, where a man in a neon yellow waterproof coat was lifting medical kit out of the back of an ambulance car.

‘Is she for us too?’ he shouted. ‘Because we’ve only got the car. The emergency call rate goes through the roof in bad weather like this. All the rigs are out.’

‘No,’ Jensen yelled back, ‘I can deal with this one myself.’

‘I’m fine,’ I said crossly, feeling stronger already. ‘You fuss more than your gran. And you still haven’t said what you’re doing here.’

He pushed open the door of my cottage and put me down on the sofa. He took off his shoes and coat, peeled my wet coat and shoes off me and handed me a towel from the bathroom. The letter that Marjorie had given me earlier was still on the table and I saw him look at it. I wrapped the towel around my hair.

‘What does that bit at the end mean?’ I asked. ‘The bit in the strange language?’

‘It can wait,’ he said gruffly. ‘I’ll make you a hot drink, you’re shivering.’

I started to take off my clothes; the situation between us was anything but clear and it did seem a bit weird stripping off in front of him, but it wasn’t as if there was anything he hadn’t seen before. I pulled my jogging bottoms off and dumped them in a soggy pile on the floor.

He put the kettle on and caught my eye.

I smiled weakly. ‘You’re supposed to say, “Let’s get you out of those wet things.”’

‘And you’re supposed to …’ His voice tailed off and the colour drained from his face. ‘Lottie, darling.’

My heart bloomed in my chest: he called me darling. Then I followed his gaze. The tops of my inner thighs were streaked with blood. ‘Oh no, that’s not good.’

I looked at Jensen in horror and felt my stomach. Still no movement.

‘I haven’t felt the baby move for ages.’ I whispered hoarsely.

‘Right.’ He jumped to his feet and held his palms up. ‘Let’s not panic.’

‘Get help.’