‘Oh, hi,’ said a slightly surprised-sounding deep male voice. ‘I was expecting the machine. Ben Jonson here.’

‘Oh, hello.’ Thea felt her stomach give an unexpected little flip, in a way it hadn’t since she was at school.

‘I’ve got to be down your way to visit a client. I wondered if I could call in and talk to you? Next week?’

Thea was torn. She knew she would be very busy next week, but on the other hand she was surprised to find how much she wanted to see him. ‘Well, of course. But couldn’t you talk now?’ She was proud of herself. The sensible answer.

There was a pause. ‘Well, we could, I suppose. I’ve got gallery space for Rory.’

‘Oh.’ This was good news. She wanted Rory’s pictures to be shown in a gallery. So why did she feel so deflated? ‘How clever of you.’

‘Yes.’ Ben sounded pleased. ‘We were very lucky. A good gallery, with lots of space, has had a cancellation unexpectedly. I heard about it and got in before anyone else did.’

‘Excellent.’ Really, Thea wanted to say ‘oh, pooh’, like Petal did, or stamp her foot. What a shame she was a grown-up. ‘Will you tell Rory, or shall I?’

There was a pause. ‘If you give me the number, I will.’

After a bit of burrowing in her handbag she produced the relevant bit of paper. ‘Remind him to latch Little Chap on to Lara, whenever he remembers. Even if he’s asleep.’

‘Little Chap? Charming. I’ll tell Toby and I’ll remind Rory.’

‘I hope there’s time to get all the framing done.’ She couldn’t help sounding fractious. She’d worked very hard organising the framing and had paid for it herself. Now some posh London gallery was going to sweep in and get all the credit.

‘Oh, there should be plenty of time. The space isn’t available until early next year.’

‘Next year?’ A smile spread over Thea’s face. She couldn’t be certain that Rory would consider this too long a wait, but she was in with a chance. ‘He only gave me three months.’

‘Yes, but Thea, no offence, there’s a slight difference between a major London venue –’

‘And a small provincial gallery that hasn’t even got premises yet? I know.’ She paused for a second. ‘Well, let me know how you get on.’

She ended the call, feeling pleased with herself, in spite of Ben’s news. She felt she’d handled the call well. Wasn’t there something in The Rules about finishing phone calls first? Or was that only with men you were dating? She’d better fish out her copy and reread it. For some reason she felt herself flush. Why was she thinking of Ben in terms of dating?