Thea suddenly remembered saying that you didn’t get angry with people you didn’t care about. And even if he didn’t fancy her, he must be concerned for her welfare. She felt ashamed. He had tried to save her, he was now feeling the bones round her ankle very gently, she had no reason to shout at him. But she was not ready to forgive him entirely – her pride and her feelings hurt more than her damn ankle did, which was saying something. She hoped there was a special place in hell for men who refused the advances of nice girls, but still she summoned up some chilly dignity. ‘I meant the compress and the bandage to be separate.’

‘This’Il do both jobs until we can get you home to a packet of frozen peas. Now,’ he said, when he had finished binding her ankle with wet rags, ‘where are the rest of your clothes so I can drive you home? You won’t be able to drive yourself for a bit.’

There was an anxious silence while Thea realised what he was saying, that she might not be able to drive, and she absolutely depended on being able to get to and from home at the moment. What with Lara and the puppies she’d never manage on public transport. Please God he was wrong. ‘I’m not planning to go home, not tonight,’ she told him, trying not to panic. ‘I’ve planned to stay the night here, putting on coats of varnish whenever one dries, sleeping in between. I’ve got to get this floor done.’

‘If you were varnishing the floor, what were you doing up a ladder with a pot of paint?’

‘There was a bit of ceiling that got missed. I just thought I’d do it before I got to that bit of floor.’ She summoned a carefree smile from somewhere. ‘At least my hurt leg won’t stop me varnishing,’ she added brightly, if a little brittly.

He opened his mouth to say all sorts of sensible things, but fortunately had the good sense not to. Instead, he said, ‘Then I’d better help you.’

She bit back a curt refusal: if she let her temper and her hurt pride get the better of her he might guess why, a woman spurned and all that. On the other hand he might just think it was hurting her ankle and spilling paint on the floor that was making her so touchy. ‘You don’t have to. I expect you’ve got somewhere else to go.’

He shook his head. ‘No. I came to see you. I wanted to see how things were going.’

‘But you didn’t come all the way down from London just to chat?’ She didn’t let her heart flutter at the thought, although it wanted to.