‘Remember what it was like to be seventeen,’ he tells me. ‘She’s hurt. She’s angry, with you, with the world. Give her time. She’ll come round.’ He looks at me kindly, then wraps his arms around me and Tomas, and I let him, taking strength from him. ‘And she may be seventeen and angry, but she’s also a mother and she loves this one. She won’t stay away for long. She won’t leave him, no matter what she’s saying. Don’t worry. We’ll make sure she’s safe.’

I don’t ask who he means by ‘we’, but I trust what he’s said. I study his face. Stephanie was right: he looks tired. There are dark circles around his lined eyes.

He pushes his white hair off his forehead. ‘Go back to Le Petit Mas, in case she comes home and wants to see Tomas,’ he tells me.

‘If you see her, tell her I’m sorry,’ I say. ‘Tell her to come home.’ This is home. He nods, understanding, and briefly hugs me again. I turn to see Fabien looking straight at me, making me blush.

We walk back to the main road. Fabien says goodbye and starts to cross the street to the brocante, pulling out his keys to unlock the doors.

‘Thank you, Fabien,’ I say.

‘She’ll turn up. Try not to worry. Henri knows,’ he says, and unlocks the gates. Suddenly I feel a huge distance between us and it’s not just the road.

We turn silently towards the river. There, outside the swanky bar that Ollie loved, are Cora and her friends.

‘Cora! I’m looking for the young woman, Stephanie, who’s staying with me,’ I say quickly, before they can kiss us all. I need to spread the word, and fast.

‘Oh, yes.’ She nods politely, clearly snubbed by my having cut out the formalities.

‘Have you seen her? She has blonde hair, and is very slight,’ I blurt.

‘Ah,’ says Cora, slowly and deliberately, infuriating me. ‘I heard you had one of those homeless people staying with you.’ She smiles but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

‘Um, Stephanie isn’t homeless. She lives with me and works for me.’

Her eyebrows shoot up. ‘Lives with you? I assumed she was doing some kind of community service, payback for what she did to you.’

My hackles rise and I bite my lip.

‘And who’s this little chap?’ she asks, reaching for Tomas, who pulls away and nestles into my neck.

‘This is Tomas,’ I say impatiently.

‘Oh, and is he visiting too?’ She looks at Rhi and Lou.

‘No,’ says Lou. ‘He lives at Le Petit Mas.’

‘Sounds like quite a commune you’ve got there!’ Cora smiles again. ‘Just, well, you don’t need me to tell you to be careful.’

She sips her café au lait.

‘What exactly do you mean by that?’