Maddy and the girls were raking leaves into the middle of the lawn when Max arrived home the next day. Chloe ran up to him and he swung her up in his arms.

‘Can we build a bonfire, Daddy?’ Emily pleaded. The bobble on her hat tipped from side to side as she jumped up and down.

He glanced at Maddy, whose nose and cheeks were scorched red with cold.

‘I told them they could,’ she said, a little out of breath. They’d already collected branches and twigs in the wheelbarrow. A wisp of hair hung over her eye. She tried to push it away with her gloved hand, but it fell down again.

‘I suppose so,’ he said. Chloe’s icy nose brushed his cheek as he let her down. She giggled and ran off towards the greenhouse.

‘We’ve been making a Guy to burn.’ Emily emphasised the word ‘burn’ as if she were handing out a death sentence.

‘Have you now?’

‘They said at school that Guy Fawkes tried to blow up a house. Whose house was it, Daddy?’ Emily asked.

‘The Houses of Parliament, darling.’ Max winked at Maddy.

‘He was hung, drawn and quartered. They don’t do that anymore do they, Daddy?’ Emily exaggerated a frown.

‘No, darling,’ Maddy laughed, ‘and thank goodness for that.’

‘I think I might go and lie down for a bit.’ Max yawned.

‘Are you all right?’ Maddy’s eyes creased with concern.

‘Look at my apples, Daddy.’ Chloe emerged from behind the greenhouse with a little bucket full of half-rotten apples. She chucked two across the lawn and both dogs chased after them.

‘Tip the rest in the compost, sweetheart.’ Maddy nudged Emily to go and help her. Max trudged indoors and Maddy followed, slipping her Wellington boots off at the door. He turned and kissed her cheek. She smelled of crisp, woody air.

‘Can I get you anything?’ She rubbed his arm and tried to catch his eye, but he avoided the loving look he knew would be there, in case she spotted his deceit. These transitions were much harder than he’d expected, and the guilt was a constant thorn digging into him. He hated saying goodbye to one family while trying to slip back into the rhythm of the other. But if it meant they all stayed happy, it was worth it. Plus he couldn’t deny there were many benefits for him. Having a nap was like cleaning the slate and when he’d woken up, he’d be ready to be part of this family again.

‘Actually, I’ve been thinking – John’s asked me to go into partnership with him. Do you think we can stump up some cash?’

‘How much?’ She lifted the lid off a pot on the cooker. The spicy smell of butternut squash soup wafted towards him.

‘Twenty-five.’

She stirred the thick mixture with a wooden spoon then tested a little on her tongue.