‘I do love it, but I’d never want to live there. It’s miles from anywhere.’ He’d paused. ‘You could always have the barns and Grandpa’s studio, I guess? We could even get Aunt Cass to convert the buildings and have one each, for holidays and stuff?’

This had not occurred to Georgie. They could actually share the place. It didn’t have to be all or nothing.

‘Do you know, that’s not a bad idea. We could rent them out as holiday accommodation when we’re not using them.’

‘If Aunt Cass didn’t mind,’ Jake said.

‘If Cass didn’t mind,’ echoed his mother.

But Cass did mind. Georgie rang her when she got home, excited by the new idea.

‘The thing is, we were planning to convert those buildings ourselves. Skye is going to be using Daddy’s studio for her classes. It makes sense for her to come up here, there’re loads of people in Truro who are keen on yoga and body work. We were thinking she could live in the old milking parlour, once it’s done. Then we might rent out the top barn for holiday lets, to try and recoup some of the costs.’

‘Goodness. Well, you’ve certainly thought it all out,’ said Georgie. It was like a punch in the solar plexus, to discover that they’d planned all this without mentioning anything to her.

‘And to be honest, I’m just not sure it would work, us both trying to be here. You’d always feel weird, being shut out of the house. It’d be awkward, potentially. And anyway, we’d like you to stay with us when you come. I’d like that. Then we can see you properly, spend time together.’

Stung, Georgie decided she’d leave it for some weeks before she went to Cornwall again to start sorting through their mother’s things. Cass had won, again.

When she and Jake next went down to Cornwall, it was in a rented van. Jake had asked if he could have the round, marble-topped table in the top room he had always slept in, as a child. He’d loved that room, being up so high, level with the tree-tops. He’d imagined he was perched in the rigging of a pirate ship, the green fields below transformed into blue waves. The carved wooden bed had seemed like a cabin bed, containing and safe. When it rained in the night it sounded as if the sea was just outside the open window.