He pocketed the phone and looked worried. I raised my eyebrows enquiringly. ‘That was Betty. She was just about to leave when Mum took a tumble. She says she’s perfectly OK, and she’s popped her on the sofa …’

‘Oh, but you must go.’

He scratched his head and looked torn. ‘I’m sure she’s fine. It’s just …’

‘No, no, definitely. We’ll do this another day.’

‘Or we could both go,’ he said, as it occurred to him. ‘And I’ll run you back later. There’s loads of food in the freezer. I could shove an M&S pie in the oven? I’m not sure it’ll just be the two of us, but …’

‘Yes, why not? Good plan. Come on, let’s both go. I love your mum, and it couldn’t matter less if she joins us. Anyway, I know you’ll worry if we don’t go.’

We left the pub, crossed the lane, and set off across the fields, following a footpath with our torches. And actually, it was lovely to be walking through the plough in the soft night air, our boots marching in unison.

When we arrived at the house, Betty was already putting her coat on in the hall. ‘Sorry, Dan, I would have stayed, but our Lily needs me to babysit, and what with Pete and his bad leg …’

‘Yes, yes, absolutely. You must go.’

‘But she really is fine,’ she reassured him. ‘It’s just, I knew you’d want me to ring you and—’

But Dan had gone. With a fleeting thank you to Betty, he’d disappeared into the sitting room. I followed him. Nancy was on the yellow sofa by the fire, propped up with tapestry cushions.

‘I told her not to ring you,’ she whisper-hissed, her eyes flashing with anger beneath her turban. ‘Told her I was completely fine. What was she thinking?’

‘Where does it hurt, Mum?’ Dan said, crouching down and ignoring her. We heard the front door shut as Betty left. ‘What did you fall on?’

‘My foot,’ she told us. ‘I just rolled off the side of it, down the step to the kitchen, and felt something go. And yes, I might well have done a ligament or something, but there is absolutely nothing to be done until the morning, apart from leg up with an ice pack, which Betty has already done!’ A pack of frozen peas was indeed nestled against her foot, which did look a bit swollen.

‘So sorry, darling,’ she said, reaching out for my hand with her thin, bony one and rolling her eyes at me above Dan’s head. ‘All this could have been conveyed on the phone, while you two had a lovely supper. But wretched Betty beat me to it!’ She was clearly livid.

I grinned. ‘Couldn’t matter less, Nance. We’ll eat with you here.’