Except, of course, we now never did stay with Charles because he lived so close. On the occasions we all had dinner together at Aynsford, we would drive home afterward, usually quite early in order to put Saskia to bed.

So, had moving out of London been the wrong thing to do?

And had it also been wrong for us to have had a child?

The jury may still be out on the first question, but the answer to the second was a definitive no. It certainly hadn’t been the wrong thing. Saskia had provided us both with immeasurable happiness, as she still did. My deepest regret was that we hadn’t had more children, but it hadn’t been from lack of trying.

Marina had completed course after course of fertility treatments, but all to no avail. The doctors couldn’t understand why she wasn’t becoming pregnant. They couldn’t find anything wrong with either of us. Maybe it was due to stress, they said, but Marina had conceived easily in the stressful environment of SW1, while she couldn’t do so again in the tranquillity of OX15.

She was still young enough to be a mother again, but we had long resigned ourselves to having just the one child. Perhaps things would have been different between us now if she’d been able to have more.

I resolved to make myself more exciting, more spontaneous and more attentive. I just hoped it wasn’t already too late.

CHAPTER

25

ONCE AGAIN, BOTH Charles and Rosie were delighted to see me when we drove in to Aynsford at half past eight.

‘Do you want to come in?’ Charles asked.

‘We’re both hungry,’ I said. ‘I’d better get back and fix us some supper.’

‘I have some leftover shepherd’s pie,’ Charles said. ‘You’re welcome to have that if you like. Mrs Cross always makes a large pie so that I can eat the rest for my lunch over the next few days. She only made it today, instead of a Sunday roast.’

‘So Mrs Cross has finished her grandmotherly duties?’

‘Indeed. Grateful to be back too, I think. She complained that those two young grandsons of hers totally wore her out.’ He laughed. ‘So, do you want the pie or not? It only needs to be put back in the Aga for twenty minutes.’

I looked across at Chico. He nodded.

‘Okay, that would be lovely, as long as we’re not depriving you of your lunches for the rest of the week.’

‘Mrs Cross can always make me another one tomorrow.’

The three of us, plus Rosie, went into his kitchen.

‘Good to see you again, Admiral,’ Chico said.

‘Ah, yes, thank you. Good to see you too.’

The excellent-looking shepherd’s pie was sitting on the kitchen table.