‘It won’t be forever,’ Hannah consoled. She didn’t say that the village shop was hardly what she wanted out of life. Her upscale luxury goods boutique in Stockholm’s gorgeous, colourful Old Town had been only the start of what she’d planned. But bigger, better premises or even a chain of stylish shops selling beautiful things had definitely receded into the land of might-have-been for now.

Despite Nan’s indomitable spirit, she couldn’t cook or butter bread; she needed help with buttons, zips, her hair … dozens of things.

The situation would improve as Nan did but Hannah knew this limbo would continue for several weeks yet. Then Hannah could start again.

Albin had torched her dreams but she’d rise from the ashes.

Chapter Twelve

On Friday, Nan turned quiet and pensive when flowers arrived from Brett, red chrysanthemums with yellow centres. Hannah arranged them in a vase in the kitchen but Nan said she didn’t want to discuss Brett and gazed out of the window at bare branches scratching at the winter sky. For the rest of the day she was abstracted, barely touching her evening meal.

After washing up, Hannah left her grandmother to watch Coronation Street and went upstairs to call Albin. She felt at home now in the little bedroom that smelled of lavender from the sachets Nan put in the drawers. From the bed she could see a black, starry night through the dormer window and gazed at its brilliance while she formulated a plan of attack.

It wouldn’t have shocked her if Albin had declined her call but maybe curiosity got the better of him as he answered on the fifth ring with a brisk, ‘Hannah.’

‘I haven’t received the value of my stock, returned rent and compensation payment yet,’ she said steadily. ‘I know you won’t want to keep me waiting.’ The stars were bright tonight, like a million diamonds, like the lights glittering on the black water beneath Vasabron.

‘I’ll email a list of stock held and what you paid for it,’ he said.

‘OK,’ she agreed, wondering when. ‘I can cross-reference it to the paid invoices in my receipts bank. Then there’s the display equipment I owned and the overpaid rent. I presume you’ve returned the till to the lease company?’ Stars would be hanging over Stockholm, too, but the lights of big cities always dimmed the starry radiance.

Albin said, smoothly, ‘Julia attended to it.’

Good for Julia. ‘What about the compensation for lost income?’ Hannah went on.

Albin assumed a terse, regretful tone. ‘I’ve taken advice and there’s no goodwill in the business because I’m not buying you out, as such. Goodwill is generally established by calculating the assets over the liabilities when taking over a going concern. I’m not buying a going concern. You merely ceased trading.’ He went on talking about ‘intangible assets’ and ‘external sources’.