Briony walked over to the inglenook fireplace and stared at the remains of a fire. It seemed the paintings and the furniture had eventually ended up as kindling.

‘It needs a lot of work to bring it back up to scratch, Mr Jackson. It’s Tudor, isn’t it? Do the cottages at the beginning of the lane form part of the property, and if so are they occupied?’

Mr Jackson was in a terrible quandary. The big blonde woman was intimidating enough, but this little redhead was worse. He wasn’t sure which question to answer first when Briony began talking again.

‘Also, the stables will have to be turned into garages. Neither myself nor my colleague ride. So that will be an added expense if we do decide to purchase. Also the kitchens need refitting and I notice that electricity hasn’t been installed. Another expense. How long has the house been up for sale? Since 1919? So it’s been empty for six, nearly seven, years. I should imagine the damp’s got in by now.’

Mr Jackson leapt to the house’s defence. ‘The roof is in perfect condition, madam, I can assure you of that.’

Briony wiped her fingers daintily on her handkerchief and said sweetly, ‘I’m glad to hear something is.’

Mariah grinned.

‘If you would be so kind as to leave my friend and myself alone for a few minutes, Mr Jackson ...’ With a last trumpeting blow of his nose, he left the room.

‘I shall wait outside by my vehicle until such time as you have concluded your business.’

When he had gone, Mariah said, ‘Well, conclude, Briony, conclude!’

‘Is he all the ticket, Mariah?’

‘I don’t know about that, Bri, but if he blows his nose once more I’ll scream!’

Briony grinned. ‘It is a bit disgusting.’

Mariah looked around the large drawing room and said, ‘So? What do you think?’

Briony looked at her friend and smiled.

‘I think it’s perfect. We can do a lot with it. I thought upstairs we could really go to town, you know? There’s so much scope for the bedrooms, and even the servants’ rooms could be made up to accommodate customers. It’s exactly what we want.’

Mariah relaxed. ‘I knew you’d like it. It’s like a shithouse at the moment, I know, but that’s to our benefit. It’ll get the price right down, but think how it could look, eh?’

‘I think I’d like this room in dove grey and deep burgundy, it would look stunning. We’d easily accommodate thirty or forty men here at any given time. If the cottages aren’t part and parcel of the deal, we’ll buy them somehow. They’re too close for comfort. The people who come here want guaranteed privacy and we’ll make sure they get it.’

Mariah laughed in delight.