‘You’re in a feisty and interrogative mood today,’ he said, not answering her.

‘Stuck here I have a lot of time to think about things.’

Driving back to Tilsham later that afternoon, Ellis contemplated his mother’s words about past sins. Everybody had them, it was just how adept one was at letting go of them. And that largely depended on how strong a conscience one had.

Chapter Nine

Finished in the bathroom, Tom switched off the light. Martha was already in bed and despite it being well after midnight, she was staring intently at the screen of her laptop.

‘Is that work?’ he asked, pulling back the duvet on his side of the bed and getting in.

‘No. I’m house-hunting,’ she said.

‘Why, you’re not thinking of us moving again, are you?’

‘Not for us, silly, for Mum.’

‘Has she asked you to find her a house?’

‘Not yet she hasn’t.’

‘Martha, what are you up to?’

She twisted her head round to look at him. ‘When we go down on Sunday, I’m going to persuade Mum that it’s time to downsize and live nearer to us. You’ve known ever since your father moved to be nearer Lynn that I’ve wanted my mother to do the same thing. I’d just feel happier if she wasn’t so far away.’

‘She’s not that far from us.’

‘The distance is enough to be a nuisance should there be a problem. She knows how I feel. When you lost your mother, I told Mum then that she should think about selling Anchor House to make things more convenient for us all. She’ll have to do it one day, when she’s too old to cope on her own.’

Tom pulled a face. ‘I think she’s a long way off that. What’s more, she loves her home, you know that.’

‘But having her close by would be just so much more practical. Especially … when … you know, we have a baby.’

He knew why she’d hesitated; she’d been on the verge of saying if we have a baby. ‘But won’t you miss Anchor House?’ he asked. ‘It’s your childhood home. You’ve always said how much you loved growing up there.’

‘Of course I’ll miss it, so will Mum, that’s why it’s important I find her something she’ll love just as much.’

Tom wasn’t convinced. ‘Are you sure it’s a good idea to present her with something that will make her feel as though she has no choice in the matter? Wouldn’t it be better to sow the seed of an idea and let her take it from there?’

‘But that could take forever. You know how slow and stubborn she can be. She can really dig her heels in when she wants to.’

He smiled. ‘I know somebody else just like that.’

She smiled too. ‘But you do see, don’t you, I only want the best for her? And apart from anything else, I really believe this is what Dad would want me to do, to take care of Mum.’