Elspeth was also helpful in practical ways. She had grown up in Kettlebridge and had lots of family there, and if I ever needed a mechanic, a plumber, a carpenter or an electrician, Elspeth knew someone who knew someone who could help. She knew as much about what went on in the town as anybody, especially as she had a part-time job booking out the civic buildings for weddings and other occasions.

She took in the scratches on my neck and said, ‘Is it a bad time?’

It had been such an awful morning, I’d completely forgotten. She’d messaged me earlier to ask if I had a heater she could borrow, as her boiler had broken down.

‘No, you’re fine, it just slipped my mind. I’ll go and get it. Come on in.’

‘If that’s OK. I won’t stay long,’ Elspeth said, and stepped in.

I went into Mark’s old study to get the heater. I hadn’t got round to redecorating, and it still looked pretty much the same as it had done when he’d used it as a bolthole from family life, though it was a bit more untidy. It was chilly, too; it had a tiny radiator that didn’t really work, and was the one room in the house that never seemed to get warm.

It sounded like Daisy was still absorbed by the iPad; I could hear the commentary on a YouTube video she’d watched over and over again, which showed various washing machines in action. It was extraordinary what people made videos of, but if it kept Daisy happy for a bit I wasn’t complaining. I might even be able to have a bit of a chat with Elspeth, who somehow had a knack for making me feel a bit more normal. As if I was as content as a proper mother should be, rather than spinning between stress and bitterness.

I grabbed the heater and went back to the hall to hand it over. ‘Such a pain when the central heating goes,’ I said. ‘Always seems to happen just before Christmas. Hope you’re not too frozen.’

‘Oh, we’re all right. Should be fixed tomorrow, with any luck. I can bring this back then, if that’s all right?’

‘No rush. Only if it’s convenient for you. Do you have people coming round?’ I would have been amazed if she didn’t, given how much family she had living nearby.

‘Yeah, but it won’t do me any harm to pop out for half an hour, to be honest. Probably keep me sane. You?’

‘My mother’s moved to Australia so she can cohabit with her sheep-shearing boyfriend, so no.’

‘Really? Wow. Is that… is that a good move, do you think?’

‘Oh, she’s over the moon about it. Almost insultingly so, given that she’s moving to the other side of the world from us. But hey, who can blame her? She’s gone to find the sun. Even if it only lasts the winter, at least she’ll have had that.’