He grimaced. ‘I haven’t been to bed, actually.’ He lowered his voice and asked quickly, ‘I wanted to ask you whether Cynthia has rung. She’s in London, on one of her mammoth shopping trips. When she found I’d moved out of the flat, she rang the old office number and left a message on the voice mail.’

He grimaced at the memory of the provocative message she’d left with no thought about who might hear it, an entirely inappropriate message, considering they hadn’t been together for over two years. And even if he had been free, she was now married to a good friend of his. He didn’t cheat on anyone.

Cynthia clearly did. Well, he knew that already, didn’t he?

He grimaced at his aunt. ‘She ought to be looking after Nick, not shopping in London. It seems he had a heart attack a few weeks ago, luckily only a mild one.’

Louisa made a clicking sound of exasperation. ‘I’ll never understand what you saw in the woman. Or what Nick saw in her, either.’

‘She’s very attractive physically. Fools you for a while, till you realise she has no heart. Did she try to contact you?’

‘Yes. She phoned here.’

He frowned. ‘What did you say to her?’

‘It was Megan who answered.’

‘Oh, hell!’

‘That girl can take care of herself. Don’t underestimate her!’ Louisa chuckled. ‘Apparently she pretended to be the maid and was so uncooperative that Cynthia threatened to complain about her to me and get her sacked.’

He threw back his head and laughed, but the smile soon faded. ‘I only hope Cynthia doesn’t find out about the wedding. I wouldn’t put it past her to turn up uninvited.’

‘I thought she was safely married to Mr Money-bags!’

‘If I read the situation rightly, since Nick’s heart attack, he’s not able to satisfy milady any more.’ There was a touch of embarrassment on his face as he added, ‘I don’t really want to talk about her.’

‘Me neither. You’ll do far better with Megan.’

‘Yes. I agree. I’m getting quite fond of her already.’

‘That’s quite an admission, coming from you.’

He shrugged, but couldn’t help smiling at the thought of Megan’s freshness and honesty – and the way she responded to him. He drew in a deep, calming breath and added mentally, And the way he responded to her!

‘I’ve never been as sure of anything on a personal level as I am of marrying Megan.’

She patted his cheek, giving him a misty smile.

Just before noon, a black limousine deposited Auntie Eileen and Uncle John at the block of flats. They hovered awkwardly in the hallway of Louisa’s home with the air of two people bearding a lion in its den.