Thank you, Petal’s uncle, thought Thea.

‘Thea, sweetie!’ Molly was fond but brisk. ‘I hope this isn’t wildly inconvenient, but I wanted to come and tell you in person.’

‘Tell me what, Molly?’ asked Thea, after they had kissed each other.

‘About the trip.’ Molly pulled out a chair, regarded its seat dubiously and sat down. ‘To Aix. In Provence. Should be lovely at this time of year. Petal did give you my message?’

‘She said something about you going to France on Wednesday.’

‘Darling, Provence is in France. Surely you knew that? But not just me, you too.’

Thea, who had been getting more of her surfaces wiped than she usually achieved in a week, turned round. ‘What?’

‘Thea, do pay attention! I said I want you come to Provence with me. On Wednesday.’

‘This Wednesday, coming?’

‘Yes. I was going with my friend from my pottery class, but she’s broken her leg. If I go on my own I’ll have to pay the single room supplement. Come on,’ she went on bracingly, as if Thea were refusing to go swimming because the water was cold. ‘It’s only for six days.’

‘Take Derek.’

‘Derek hates art and sightseeing, and all that stuff. He is such a Philistine.’

‘But Molly – it’s terribly short notice.’

‘Oh, I know it’s a bit sudden, but think how heavenly it would be. Early April is just my favourite time for Provence, before all the tourists get there.’ Molly obviously hadn’t noticed she was a tourist herself.

‘I can’t afford it, for a start.’ This was a guess, but Molly was, by Thea’s standards, enormously rich and had probably booked a very expensive tour. ‘And really…’

‘Oh, come on, Thea, be a bit spontaneous. Don’t worry about the money, Derek’ll pay. It was his idea that I ask you, actually. He said you probably deserve a holiday for looking after Petal.’

Thea gave Derek a mental ‘thank you’ for understanding that his niece was not all joy. ‘But Molly, it would be far cheaper to pay the single room supplement.’

‘Oh, I know. It’s the company I want you for, really. You never know who you’ll get on those trips. I like to go with someone I know. Someone I can talk to.’

Personally, Thea liked to go on holiday with somebody she liked and although she did like Molly, even the very best of friendships could founder in such conditions. And she wasn’t sure that Molly qualified as ‘very best’.