He stood looking down at her, where she sat on her chair, resting her ankle. She didn’t look directly at him, but she was aware of his expression: exasperated, irritated and still a little angry. Eventually, he spoke. ‘OK, fine. Have you got a lead?’

She nodded. ‘And about a mile of kitchen towel in case she does anything.’ Do not explain about having to clear up after her, she ordered herself. He’s a grown-up with experience of animals. He’ll know that.

‘Right. While I’m gone, think about what you want to eat, but don’t get up. Or you won’t be able to drive tomorrow either.’

Thea smiled blankly, trying not to worry that in fact, now she was here, she might never get to leave the gallery. Thank goodness Molly had made her buy a mobile phone.

While he was away, she limped to the loo and bravely looked in the mirror. Her hair was curling wildly all over the place, but she knew that if she brushed it, it would either frizz completely or go flat. She pulled at it with her fingers, washed her face in cold water, then had to put Molly’s hand cream on it, because it felt so tight. She had no make-up with her, nor any scent, and she was wearing painting clothes. ‘Give up, girlfriend,’ she told her bedraggled reflection. ‘He didn’t want you when you were practically lying on a doily underneath him. He certainly won’t want you now.’

This reality confronted, she limped downstairs to feed the puppies. Their little snuffling faces and scrabbling paws were incredibly endearing. It was nice to feel loved, even by things so small and young that didn’t know any better.

After she had mashed their food and they had hoovered it up, she sat on the floor cuddling them. Who needed a man when she could have a puppy? She picked up Little Chap, the tiniest, and had a head-to-head conversation with him. After he had assured her that he was not going to die and was actually putting on weight, even if at a far slower rate than his chums, she lay down flat and let all the puppies clamber over her.

She was still lying there when Ben came back from taking Lara out. ‘How did you get down here? I thought I told you to rest?’

The puppy therapy had soothed her prickles and she felt much more relaxed. She smiled up at him. ‘I am resting. I’m just not alone. Oh! Don’t do that, little one.’ Her ear, which had been gently nuzzled, suddenly received an investigative nip. ‘I had to feed them,’ she explained to Ben. ‘Or they’d have eaten me.’

‘I could have fed them for you.’

‘Yes, but you wouldn’t have brought them all upstairs for me to cuddle. Isn’t Little Chap adorable?’