Christopher looked anxious.

‘It’s all right. It was very polite. I didn’t pry. We just talked about her being here, and how she liked the garden and opera and things. Nothing too personal. But I liked her very much. She’s very…’ Ellie struggled to find the right word, ‘…sensitive. And…well…nice. And I think it’s lovely. And that you should get to know her better.’ She looked apologetic. ‘Am I being bossy?’

‘Just a bit.’ Then he smiled. ‘But it’s kind of you to mind.’

Ellie came up to face him, and lifted her arms until they were round his neck. ‘I do mind. Desperately. It’s been a rotten time for all of us, but I think we need to move on.’

‘That’s a very brave thing to say.’

Ellie flopped down onto her bed. ‘Probably just fighting talk.’

Christopher flopped down next to her. ‘Is this all a front?’

‘For what?’ she asked.

‘For your own sake. To help you cope.’

Ellie looked pensive. ‘It was once. But I’m coming through now Dad. It was really awful, you know? Like the worst thing that had ever happened to me in my life. I thought I’d die.’

He felt as though he’d been cut by a knife. ‘Don’t say that.’

‘I’m only saying it now because I feel I can. I’m more on top of it. It’s the reason I went to Africa. To have bigger things to think about. Bigger cares and concerns, if you like. And they helped me put my own problems into perspective.’ She put her hand on top of his. ‘And you are not to worry about me any more. Or to feel guilty, or anything like that. Just remember Destiny’s Child.’

Christopher looked sideways at her. ‘What?’

‘Destiny’s Child–“I’m a Survivor”.’ She grinned.

Christopher shook his head. ‘What will I do without you?’

Ellie got up from the bed and began to zip up her holdall. ‘You’ll cope, Dad. Even if you do sometimes need a rocket up your bum.’

‘That’s no way to talk to your father!’

‘No, Dad–sometimes it’s the only way to talk to your father.’

The last week had brought rather too many surprises for Christopher’s liking. A bit of honest-to-goodness dullness and predictability would have suited him down to the ground round about now. But he didn’t get it. No sooner had he waved Ellie off than a dark figure walked up the garden path of the Manor House. A figure that he had seen only a few days before.

‘Hello Dad.’

‘Matt? I thought you were only here for a day. You said you were going back to the States after your meeting.’

‘Change of plan.’ And then, under his breath, ‘Change of life.’