‘Yes,’ said Tara, because she got the feeling she’d be hearing about it anyway.

After they’d finished eating, Molly went back to the studio to feed Lloyd and bring out the pudding.

They both watched her go, Lloyd trailing at her heels, then Keith turned back to Tara and pretended to look exhausted. ‘Sorry about that. Molly is not afraid of questions! Kind of goes with the territory – lots of actors, film people. Always talking about themselves.’

‘She’s certainly not shy.’

‘You could say that.’ Keith took a big sip of pressé. ‘But not in a bad way. I mean, she’s precocious but she’s not spoiled. Molly’s a good kid.’

Tara scrutinized his face. He seemed proud of Molly, and it gave her a weird curdled feeling that she didn’t like. A stupid feeling, because Molly was a good kid. Had he talked about her and Toby like that? Did he ever mention his grown-up children now, when he talked about his family?

‘So what are your plans?’ she asked briskly.

‘My plans?’

‘Well, everything’s full steam ahead at the building site, as far as I know. And I thought you had meetings this week. Are you postponing that while Molly’s here?’

Keith leaned back in his chair. ‘She’ll be fine tagging along with me. She came out to Sweden last year. And building sites are interesting places. Always something going on.’

‘If you’re a plasterer.’

He laughed. As dusk fell, the solar lights had started to come on around them, flickering like fireflies in the roses. ‘Don’t worry, my attention won’t be diverted from Troutbridge. Alice has already offered to find me a reliable sitter – one of her friends’ teenagers.’ He paused. ‘And I thought maybe you might—’

‘No!’ Tara raised her hand. ‘Whatever you’re about to say, don’t. I am far too busy to babysit, and even if I wasn’t, it’s not … not something you spring on people.’

‘No need to snap. I just thought you might want to. I thought you’d be offended if I didn’t ask.’

‘How do you work that out?’

‘Because after years of bitter experience, my rule of thumb is that most women will want the exact opposite of what my original instinct was.’ The smile that accompanied it was self-deprecating, but it was too smooth for Tara in her current mood.

‘You mean you don’t know me well enough to guess right,’ she said, and felt bad as soon as the words left her mouth.

‘That is also true.’ Keith shrugged. ‘But believe me, I wouldn’t—’

‘Because this is getting to be a pattern, Dad.’ The words were coming out of nowhere. ‘First you turn up in my garden. Then you get involved in my work. And, what – now you’ve decided Molly and I need to get to know each other? What’s going on?’