He took out his credit card, waving away her offer to contribute. ‘You don’t do someone a huge favour and then pay your own way. Leave me to talk to my mum about accommodation.’ Neither of his parents nor his brother had large homes but he was sure they could stick a camp bed in his mum’s study or something.

He was going to spend a week with Hannah.

And, though she hadn’t yet told him herself, she was no longer coupled up with Albin.

While Hannah put the dishes in the dishwasher and made coffee, Nico called Carina, raising an eyebrow to discover she was still at the hospital with his dad but not commenting. He outlined Hannah’s offer.

To his surprise, Carina didn’t, as he’d expected, leap in with queries and questions. ‘Let me talk to your father,’ she said. The line became muffled for a while, then she returned. ‘Lars says you should take over his house. It makes perfect sense. Hannah can have a room and you can share with the girls. If you came to my house it would be more cramped.’

‘But Dad might come out of hospital while we’re there,’ Nico pointed out.

‘Wait a moment.’ Another muffled conversation. Then: ‘If that happens, he will come to my spare room for a few days because it’s tricky coming out of hospital when you live alone. Now he’s falling asleep so I’ll say goodnight. Lycklig resa.’ She added the wish for a fortuitous journey quickly, as if to forestall further questions.

Well, now. Nico had no idea how to take that little development. It gave him a warm feeling to picture his parents together on some basis but all he said to Hannah as he came off the phone was: ‘Looks like we’ve got ourselves somewhere to stay.’

Chapter Nineteen

As the aircraft circled Gothenburg airport, passengers craned to see the grey shapes of cleared runways and curving wheel tracks cut into dazzling white snow. A rank of snow blowers and ploughs stood in readiness for the next snowfall.

Josie was in the window seat and, tingling, Hannah gazed at the view over her shoulder. She hadn’t realised she’d missed Sweden until this moment.

Last night she’d phoned her parents to update them just as they’d been snuggling down in The Bus with their books and bedtime Bovril, prompting a perfect hail of anxious questions about whether she and Nan were doing the right thing. Hannah had been as soothing as she could without reversing her decision.

Next, Rob had rung, no doubt tipped off by Mo. Hannah had half-joked, ‘Mum clears off on the big adventure then wants a say in what happens at home! I suppose you don’t think I should go either?’