‘I liked Caroline,’ Maddy sniffed. ‘I should never have told her.’

‘No, you shouldn’t,’ Fran agreed. ‘But you did, because that’s how you are. And she should never have told you about their financial set-up. But she did because she knew that if you really loved him you’d never let him risk losing his stables. The cow. Maddy, when Drew comes back to Peapods, at least be friends with the guy.’

Maddy wiped her eyes. How could they just be friends? They’d shared everything. She loved him to distraction. She couldn’t treat him the way she treated Luke or Richard – or even Peter. They were her friends. Drew was – had been, so briefly – her lover.

Fran stood up, feeling useless. ‘I take it you will still be coming to Kimberley and Barty’s reception? Barty said they hadn’t had your reply yet. Or are you going to be totally bloody selfish and avoid that too?’

‘It’s ages yet. Months. I hadn’t replied because Drew might be there.’ She scrubbed at her eyes with a piece of kitchen roll. ‘I can’t bear being there when he’s not with me. Not after all the other functions we’ve been to together.’

‘Of course he won’t be there. No one knows when he’ll be back. And if he was he’d probably ignore you.’ Suzy jammed her make-up into its holdall. ‘I would if I was him. Mad, you can’t let Kimberley down.’

She sighed heavily. She knew they were right. ‘OK. I’ll send my acceptance. But if he’s there …’ She knew she was fooling herself. He wasn’t going to be there.

Fran and Suzy exchanged martyred glances over her head. It wasn’t the breakthrough they’d been hoping for, but it was a start.

The Cat and Fiddle throbbed moistly. As July had followed June’s example by scorching into the record books, the evenings showed no signs of respite from the heat. The back of Maddy’s neck itched damply, and the long, cotton floral frock which had looked so cool and enticing in Oxfam was already clinging to her ribs.

‘Shall we sit outside?’ said Charlie Somerset, juggling two lager shandys in cold cloudy glasses. ‘I’ve never got to grips with drinking in a sauna.’

She followed Charlie into the pub’s garden. He really was devastating with his russet hair and his strongly athletic body displayed to advantage in tight jeans and T-shirt. Maddy sighed sadly as she lowered herself into a rustic chair opposite him. She felt not the merest twinge of lust.

‘Drew’s delighted with the horses.’ Charlie gulped his shandy, leaning back in his chair. ‘He rings every evening to approve the entries and ask after their progress.’

‘Really?’ Maddy wished he’d check on her progress. ‘And how are things going in Jersey? With Caroline, I mean.’