At the top of the letter was an address in Hertfordshire. The thrill of being one step closer to cracking the mystery buzzed through my bloodstream.

Thrill and also panic. If we’d found Dad’s father, what on earth were we going to do about it?

By the time I opened the door to Henry, I had to restrain myself from flapping about like a chicken.

‘What’s happened?’

I was learning to read Henry’s face – the twitch in his jaw signalling apprehension at the possible answer to that question.

‘I think I might have found my grandfather.’

‘Woah. That’s… big.’

‘It most certainly is.’

‘What did Jed say?’

‘The pantomime doesn’t finish for another hour. I haven’t told him yet.’

‘Right. Do you want to tell me?’

‘Yes, please. I’ll talk while you drive.’

Henry’s car was heated to ‘cosy’. He carefully unwound his scarf and removed his waterproof jacket and placed them in a neatly folded pile on the back. I tossed my tartan duffel coat beside them and took a contented breath in. It was a very different ride from my earlier trip in the carriage, but settling down into the now familiar seat, the old-fashioned crooner warbling on the stereo, Henry’s scent mingling with car polish and antifreeze, was like a soothing balm to my twanging nerves.

He listened while I waffled on about my progress, giving a full blink of surprise when I announced my intention to contact Tony O’Dowd as soon as possible.

‘Would it be wiser to sit on it for a day or so, give yourself time to consider this properly?’

‘Sitting about considering isn’t going to save Charis House.’

‘No.’ He was kind enough not to add that this ludicrous manhunt probably wouldn’t, either. ‘Have you managed to find a phone number?’

‘No.’ I straightened my shoulders, as if rehearsing my argument in preparation for talking to Jed later on. ‘So I’m just going to turn up at his house.’

Two blinks that time.

‘Are you sure?’

‘What else do you propose, other than me keeping this information to myself, doing nothing about it, never telling my own father that I’ve potentially unearthed the secret of his paternity and watching Charis House slide into closure before some money-grubbing strangers take my family home, one fancy portrait and piece of Armstrong furniture at a time?’

‘I’m sure your parents would keep any items that hold sentimental value.’

‘What, like the whole house, outbuildings, grounds, and the school they built from scratch?’

‘Okay, that was a stupid thing to say. I’m sorry.’

We drove in silence for another mile or so.

‘When are you planning on going?’