“It’s them,” he whispered to himself.

And although Maggie heard this comment, she didn’t ask Jack to elaborate. He wasn’t speaking to her.

The tall ships in Cowes were an impressive sight. Tourists snapped away, hoping that at least one of their ten thousand holiday photos would be worthy of a frame. Waiting at the quayside, Ester looked like something out of an Agatha Christie TV drama—her sense of style had waned somewhat over the years. Today she was wearing a real fur hat.

“If you’re off on the run,” Geoffrey warned her, “might I suggest that a dead beaver on your head isn’t the best attire? It’ll only take one confrontation with an animal lover and you’ll end up being arrested for disturbing the peace. They’ll see your new passport and, hey presto, you’ll be taken from me forever.”

Geoffrey was a gibbering wreck. His entire body shook and he made strange noises as he tried to stifle his tears.

“Geoffrey! You listen to me!” Ester barked. “You can’t be like this. Once I’m gone, you need to go home and set about finding yourself another lover straight away. Someone who will think more of you than she does of herself. You deserve the best—so don’t settle for the first money-grabbing tart who knocks on your door.” She smiled. “That’s what you did last time and look at the mess that got you into.”

Ester’s feelings for Geoffrey were as shallow as they were for any other human being, but she did have the emotional capacity to understand that he loved her with all of his pathetic, overly needy little heart. Unfortunately for him, Ester was a great believer in pulling the plaster off quickly and not prolonging the pain.

“I don’t love you, Geoffrey, you know that—although I have always very much liked the idea of you. Buy yourself a suit—you look lovely in a suit—and go on the prowl. Oh, and, when you do snag yourself a willing lady, make sure you hide the dildos and whips until you’re sure she’s on board with all of that sort of caper.”

Ester took off her beaver fur hat and placed it on Geoffrey’s head. It slipped down his bald head and covered his face before Ester tilted it back to reveal his weeping eyes.

“Don’t think I’m coming back, will you?” she said over her shoulder as she marched off. “Because I’m not. Move on, my darling.”

As she headed for the Southampton ferry, Geoffrey waved goodbye to the love of his life. And Ester never once looked back.

The electric fire had been off for so long that it now filled the living room with the stench of burning dust. Packing boxes had taken over the whole of the kitchen, half of the front room and were threatening to bury Jack in the far corner of the living room.

“You know, we could sort some of this stuff out before boxing it up, Jack,” said Maggie, although she knew that Penny must be the one to decide which memories she kept and which she let go.