‘Least said, soonest mended,’ Mrs Pugh said smugly. ‘It was all a mistake, wasn’t it, Maddy?’

‘Mad went outside in a basque and suspenders.’ Suzy grinned at her parents. ‘You know how forgetful she is. Bernie was cycling past and got excited and fell off his bike. I think Bronwyn felt it was a seduction attempt.’

The silence was awesome.

Everyone started to talk at once. Maddy, blushing from her toes, scooped up an armful of dishes and hurtled to the kitchen. She’d kill Suzy. Slowly. Inch by bloody inch.

‘Can I help?’ Drew, carrying the rest of the plates, appeared in the doorway.

‘No! Go away. Oh, I mean, thanks for clearing the table – now go away.’

‘So that story about Bernie Pugh was true?’

‘Yes. Sort of. You don’t know what I’m like. Things just happen to me.’

‘They do a bit, don’t they?’ Drew had put the plates on the draining board. ‘It’s OK, Maddy. They’re all laughing. They think it’s hilarious. Except Richard of course. He’s past laughing. I honestly thought Suzy was joking about you, um, disporting yourself and Bronwyn taking umbrage.’

She stood up from lifting the trays of pasties from the oven and pushed the heavy fall of her hair away from her flushed face. ‘I’m not a tart.’

‘I don’t think anyone ever suggested that you were.’

‘No, but with this afternoon and everything, you must think …’

‘What I think,’ Drew looked at her steadily, ‘would probably get me thrown out of here. And why are we having pasties? Didn’t you say something about the slow-cooker?’

‘I forgot to switch it on.’

Drew laughed. Not unkindly. Maddy turned away from him. ‘If you want to help, you could take these baskets of bread in.’ She reached up to the cupboard for clean plates. ‘It’ll sort of prepare them for the fact that this course isn’t going to be conventional. Will Caroline mind?’

‘Why should she?’

‘Because she’s so perfect. So elegant. She’s how I’d like to be if I ever grow up.’

‘Don’t do that. Not if it means you’ll change. And Caroline won’t care if she eats crisps from a spoon. She can’t cook to save her life – and even if she could she wouldn’t.’

Maddy placed the pile of plates slowly on the top of the smaller cupboard. There was loads of room in the kitchen now that the table was in the dining room. Maybe they could have dancing later. It was nice to know that there were flaws in Caroline’s perfection.

‘I didn’t mean to kiss you.’

‘Yes you did.’ Drew put down the bread. ‘Or at least, I hope you did. Because I certainly meant to kiss you.’

She had been right. He was a womaniser. And heartless.

‘It was just the emotion of the moment. I got carried away.’

‘Not carried away enough. Although being in a crowd of thousands probably had something to do with it. Maddy Beckett, had you kissed me like that when we’d been alone, say, somewhere like a kitchen …’ He moved towards her. ‘Things might have been very different.’