‘Hello?’

‘Hi. You must be Madi.’

‘I am, and you are …’

‘Oh, sorry, I’m Prue.’

‘Prue? As in Prue who lives here?’

Prue nodded. ‘Yep, that’s me. I’m so sorry to drop in out of the blue like this, but …’

‘But you’re back in the village … and you want your house back?’ Madi looked suddenly crestfallen.

‘Oh, God, no. We had a deal. It’s just that …’

‘Flo!’ Madi’s hand came up and cupped her mouth. ‘How silly of me. You’re back for Flo. Of course, you are. Look, come on in, please. Not that you need me to invite you into your own home, but we do need to talk, don’t we?’

Prue followed Madi into the lounge. Apart from a cardigan draped over a chair and a box of chocolates open on the rug, nothing looked any different. But then, why should it? Madi didn’t look the type to hold wild parties and trash the place.

‘About Flo. I am so sorry. I was supposed to be looking after her, and I feel absolutely terrible about what happened. Tell me, is she okay this morning? Has there been any change? I didn’t like to go down to the surgery hassling them, when I know how busy they must be. Especially when it was me in the car …’

‘She’s as well as anyone can expect. Better than that, in fact.’

‘I’m glad. You don’t know what a relief it is to hear that. I thought we’d killed her, I honestly did.’ Madi wiped a tear from her cheek. ‘Now, Prue, can I get you anything? A coffee? A biscuit?’ They walked through to the kitchen. ‘I’m not much of a cook, so I can’t offer you anything more substantial, I’m afraid.’

‘Coffee would be good, and Mum’s already fed me up, thanks.’ Prue shivered, looking back through the open doorway into the lounge. ‘You haven’t lit the fire, I see.’

‘Never could quite get the hang of it. And the weather’s on the up now. A thick woolly jumper and that lovely cosy duvet of yours are all I need.’

‘Are you sure? I can light it now, if you like, and show you how.’

‘Oh, Tom’s already tried showing me, but I’m hopeless at technical things. I’ll just forget again. And my memory’s not at its best right now.’ Madi filled the kettle and switched it on. ‘You’ve probably heard about my illness and my op, not that it’s a state secret. My mind’s been a bit fuzzy for a while, all over the place. That’s what’s worried me the most, even more than the physical changes to be honest, but I’m getting there. Since I’ve been here I’ve even started finding my keys exactly where I last left them! Must be the country life doing its thing. De-stressing.’

‘That’s good. I’m glad you’ve settled in. And made friends, I hear.’

‘Well, yes, I suppose so. Your mother’s been kind, and Patty at the shop. Don’t know where I’d be without her constant supply of frozen ready-meals! And Tom, of course. He took me to meet his wife, you know, which I thought might be awful but it really wasn’t. So sad …’