‘I suppose Rory must have decided to stay at the pub with the others. He had had rather a lot to drink.’ Thea thought this was a good thing. It meant she could sleep in his bed and she could put Ben in her room with Toby. His much vaunted goose feather duvet would be heaven just now.

Lara’s sides heaved, and both Ben and Thea crouched by her just as another little pup appeared. It was much smaller than the others, and didn’t wriggle and squeak.

‘Is it dead?’

Ben picked it up and started rubbing it roughly with the towel – Thea’s towel – which she had produced earlier. ‘It may not be, but it is a runt. Come on, little chap, take a breath!’

It did and a cry so small they wouldn’t have heard it if it hadn’t been the middle of the night emerged from its tiny mouth.

‘That’s the one I’m having’ said Thea with a catch in her voice.

‘It’s a runt,’ he repeated. ‘It may not survive. Don’t get too attached to it.’

‘Too late.’ Thea realised she was crying.

Ben put his hand on her shoulder. ‘Wait until tomorrow. See how it gets on. It may not last the night.’

Thea felt like emotional jelly. She was tired, she was overwrought. She wanted to lean into Ben and have him take her in his arms. For a moment it felt like he was going to, when an enormous rumpus developed by the front door. It opened and in walked Rory, followed by Molly and Petal.

‘They didn’t do bed and breakfast at the pub,’ said Rory, slurring slightly, ‘and the hotel was shut. So I brought them home. We’ve been wetting the babies’ heads.’ He staggered over to where he could see Lara and her pups. ‘There, you see? I told you she’d be fine.’

Having no time to kick him, Thea turned her attention to Molly, whom she expected to be incandescent with fury.

In fact, she was also pretty merry. ‘We had to get a taxi back,’ she said gaily. ‘We were all too drunk to drive.’

‘I wasn’t,’ said Petal grumpily. ‘But I can’t drive. Can I please go to bed now? Irish folk songs just don’t do anything for me. The pub was full of old people, singing and dancing. It was gross.’

Thea, startled out of her emotional stupor, realised that if she didn’t do something about finding places for people to sleep, no one else would. She got to her feet. ‘I suppose I’d better find some bedding. Have you got any bedding, Rory? Or is it just what I’ve …’ She hesitated. If she let slip that Lara had had puppies on the spare bed linen, Molly and Petal would both have tantrums.