‘Thank you,’ I said again, then took a deep breath. Right, this is it, I thought as I set off towards the bar. A sense of calm came over me as I walked towards the terrace, a feeling that every moment leads to the next to the next and all those moments in my life had been leading up to this one. I soon found the terrace that looked out over the lake. It was a beautiful evening; there were hues of rose and gold in the sky from the fading sun reflecting on the water. At first, I couldn’t see anyone there, then I spotted a tall figure. He was standing, facing away, looking out over the view. Stuart. He turned, saw me, his expression pleased to see me but also uncertain, his eyes searching my face to gauge how I was. From some deep, buried place inside me came a rush of joy and, with it, tears.

‘It is you!’ I said as I went over to join him.

‘Bea, you’re crying. Oh. Was your journey so bad? Or … is it so disappointing that it’s me?’

‘No, not at all. It’s wonderful here and I’m so glad it’s you. I was hoping it would be.’

The relief showed on his face and he held out his arms. I moved into them and, as he embraced me, it felt so completely perfect that more tears came.

‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘Why the tears?’

I half sobbed, half laughed. ‘Because this feels so … so right that it’s almost painful and, despite appearances, I can honestly say I have never ever felt happier.’

He held me close again and, with the warmth and proximity of him, I felt a sensation of belonging that I’d been missing all my life, as if I had come home. I pulled back a fraction and looked into those kind eyes I knew so well and there was that ‘Ah, there you are,’ sensation. I’d felt it before in my hypnosis session when I’d first glimpsed Billy. This time, however, the man in front of me was real, alive, in the present, not a man from another century, no more than a shadow of a memory in my mind who could disappear at any moment.

He laughed. ‘This is you when you’re happy?’

I nodded. ‘You’re here, we’re both here.’ I gestured towards our surroundings and the lake.

‘I wanted to take you somewhere fabulous. See, I reckon we could have the time of our lives together, you and me, Bea Brooks. More blues concerts, experiences to share, places to visit, and not to forget walks with Monty on the Heath. I have a long list of places to show you.’

‘And me you.’