‘No, there are lots of female Mafia bosses, actually. Maria Licciardi is one of the best known, but there are several others.’

Before Mike or I have a chance to quiz Sarah on her slightly disturbing knowledge of the Mafia, the buzzer rings.

‘Right. Best behaviour or the Mafia will be the least of your worries. Got it?’ I hiss before picking up the receiver and asking Will to come up. I may be frustrated with our lack of physical progress, but that doesn’t stop my heart from beating a little quicker when I open the door and see him. Unlike me, he’s gone full-on outdoorsy with a bobble hat (always questionable on a man in my opinion), a thick coat that reaches almost to his knees, and stout boots. He’s barely through the front door before Mike is advancing on him.

‘You must be Will,’ he says. ‘I’m Mike, Tilly’s flatmate, and this is my girlfriend Sarah.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ Will replies politely, taking Mike’s proffered hand. Despite his promise to behave, Mike has obviously gone for his bone-crusher handshake, as I detect a faint wince on Will’s face. I don’t know why Mike does it; David Attenborough would probably describe it as some sort of dominant behaviour, but it’s frankly unnecessary and I shoot him a warning look.

‘I’ve heard so much about you, it’s lovely to meet you in person at last,’ Sarah says, pushing Mike aside and wrapping Will in a hug that he looks only slightly less uncomfortable about. I’m definitely regretting giving in to them.

‘Tilly tells me you’re off to fly remote-controlled aircraft,’ Mike continues. ‘Unusual hobby.’

‘It’s not, ah, my hobby as such,’ Will stammers, evidently completely thrown off balance by the two of them. ‘My father, umm…’

‘I explained this to you,’ I say to Mike crossly as I yank furiously on my laces, anxious to get Will out of here as quickly as possible. ‘Will’s father has a very expensive and exotic helicopter that he’s been getting ready. We’re just going to watch and give moral support.’

‘Of course you are,’ Mike replies smoothly. ‘I’ll look forward to hearing all about it when we get back tomorrow, Tilly.’

‘Are you going somewhere nice?’ Will asks. He’s probably trying to shift the attention away from us, but I love him for making the effort to engage them in conversation.