‘You need something tasty to bribe her with,’ Ben told her.

‘Let’s see what we can find in the kitchen and you can meet Susan. Susan, this is Ben and this is Toby. This is Susan. She looks after Rory.’

‘Morning, gentlemen,’ said Susan. Her smile was equivocal, not enthusiastic, but not hostile either.

‘We need some food to make Lara go out,’ said Thea. ‘What is there?’

‘Precious little.’ Susan opened the fridge and peered inside. ‘Precious little for you folks’ breakfast, either.’

‘There must be something Lara likes. A bit of cheese, perhaps?’ Thea knew there was cheese because she’d bought it herself.

‘There’s half a rasher of bacon she might as well have, as it won’t feed a person.’ Susan handed it to Ben.

He went over to where Lara lay. There were five little balloons and a sausage, where before there had been six little sausages. The runt, though still alive, hadn’t filled out in the night like the others.

‘It’s a good sign that he hasn’t died, isn’t it?’ Thea asked.

Ben looked down at her but didn’t speak. Thea felt like Toby must when his father had bad news.

‘OK,’ she went on. ‘It’s nature’s way. If he dies it’s for a reason.’

She delivered the lecture to herself in a voice that was brittle with the effort of keeping away the tears. She was short of sleep and nervy, and wondered if somehow she was suffering from some kind of referred post-natal depression, but decided not to mention it in case she found herself locked up for lunacy.

‘Come on, Lara, look what I’ve got for you.’ Ben angled the bacon in front of her nose and she reared up to sniff it. Holding it out of her reach, he lured her to the front door, got her outside and only then let her have the bacon. Seeing she was about to bolt back, Thea shut the door.

Through the window she saw Lara squat down, and then have a sniff about before charging back towards the door, demanding to be let in.

‘Her food’s in that sack, over there,’ said Susan.

Ben inspected the sack in the disapproving way parents inspect boxes of cereal which are much advertised on television, with free toys in them. ‘She may need something with a bit more protein now she’s got pups to feed.’

‘You may all need something with a bit more protein in it, if you want breakfast,’ said Susan, who had a more pragmatic attitude to animals than Thea and Ben did.

‘Is anyone else up?’ asked Ben, when he’d fed Lara.

‘No and no sign that they’ll be up soon.’ Thea had put her ear to the keyhole and heard Molly’s familiar snore, but nothing from Petal.