It was now the second week of September and the air had a distinct hint of freshness to it that was reminiscent of so many back-to-school days from his childhood. It was funny how one never lost that feeling, or the memory of washing one’s hair of a Sunday evening and hastily doing the homework that had been left to the last minute. With a wry smile, he thought that it wouldn’t be long before he and Martha would be seeing their daughter off to school for her first day.

Having been firmly of the opinion that neither of them wanted to know the sex of their Little Beanie in advance, they had undergone an unexpected change of heart the night before going for the scan. Their original thinking had been that they didn’t want to tempt fate by knowing too much, or become any more attached to their unborn child than they already were … just in case. To perform such an uncharacteristic U-turn for two staunchly rational people had taken them both by surprise. But then as Naomi had said when they spent the Bank Holiday weekend with her, they had better prepare themselves for plenty more surprises when it came to being parents.

‘Parenthood makes fools of us all,’ she had said with a laugh. ‘What you believe makes perfect sense one day will seem quite ridiculous another.’

In the days since ‘Catgate’ – as Martha referred to that weekend a fortnight ago – Tom was surprised by yet another turnaround in thinking, that of his wife’s opinion of Rick. Whenever his name came up in conversation, a glint would appear in her eye and she’d say, ‘Who? Oh, you mean Rick-the-Cat-Killer?’

If Tom didn’t know better, he would say that Martha was enjoying Rick’s fall from grace, as she saw it. Which was odd, given how keen she had been on him when Willow first introduced Rick to the family. To say they were all taken aback by this new boyfriend, who turned up with Willow in a 5-series BMW and a Ralph Lauren shirt and Armani jeans, was a colossal understatement. Had he still been alive, Colin would have clapped Rick on the back and hailed him as the best thing to come his youngest daughter’s way.

Tom had never been entirely convinced by Rick’s ideal boyfriend credentials. But for the sake of family harmony, and because Willow did seem to be happy, he had not queried his suitability. But that day at Anchor House when Naomi had taken the girls shopping, Tom had found himself ill-disposed towards Rick. It was something about the churlish way he had waved Willow off as she’d happily climbed into the back seat of Naomi’s car. It had been obvious that he hadn’t wanted Willow to go, that he had wanted her to remain with him. For the rest of the day everything about Rick’s manner had been grudging, as though he didn’t want to be there. In turn, Tom’s mood had been affected and, he was afraid to say, he probably hadn’t been good company for Ellis, who had tried to make the best of a bad job.