It seemed a moment of supreme poignancy when Megan took the very last key off her key ring. She stood staring at the empty steel circle for a moment or two. Hardly anything left now of her old life. She fingered the worn leather tag which said A Present From Brighton. It had been bought for her by her aunt years ago, but it was ragged and dirty now and she’d been meaning to replace it for a while.

Should she keep it? No! She clicked her tongue in annoyance at her own sentimentality and threw the key ring into the rubbish bin.

A fresh start, she told herself firmly. That’s what she needed.

Besides, Ben hated objects like that. They’d had their first and only near-quarrel about the ashtray she’d bought for her aunt.

Once she’d closed the last suitcase, she stood by the bedroom window for a long time, seeing nothing, lost in her thoughts. Australia was so far away! She would have no one to turn to there if things went wrong.

She made an angry growling noise in her throat. Nothing would go wrong. Of course it wouldn’t. She wouldn’t let it.

She picked up the suitcase and went downstairs. ‘I’m ready.’

When Ben met her at the station, the world seemed to click into a clearer focus. He smiled at her and helped her with the luggage, stowing it in his shiny car, then opening the door for her. As they stood looking at one another, she felt suddenly shy.

‘I’m glad you didn’t change your mind,’ he said softly.

‘Were you worried I would?’

He nodded. ‘Terrified. Stupid, isn’t it? But I didn’t want to lose you. I’m sure we’re doing the right thing, you see. Quite sure.’

She nodded, pleased that he’d been worried too.

He smiled. ‘Right, then, let’s go and introduce you to my aunt.’

Louisa Griffen must have been about sixty, but she had a timeless elegance that made Megan feel very gauche and untidy when they first met. But the warmth of Louisa’s welcome and her obvious fondness for her nephew soon broke the ice.

‘Go back to work, Ben!’ Louisa ordered, after she’d fed them lunch. ‘Megan and I have a lot of things to work out.’

He grinned. ‘Don’t I have any say in the arrangements?’

‘You’ve had your say. Now we have to see if Megan approves of what I’ve done so far. Besides, you said you had an appointment this afternoon.’

He glanced at his watch, exclaimed in shock and stood up.

Megan blinked in surprise as she watched him. It was as if he had changed personality entirely. The warmth had gone from his face, replaced by a cool expression that betrayed nothing of his thoughts.

‘I’ll be back this evening, as we arranged.’