‘Carlo?’ I say, with relief. ‘Course you have. His family owns the house.’

Carlo must have come to check everything is okay, and the children would have met him when they arrived. But why didn’t he knock first? He shouldn’t just walk in! Then again, he might have done, and Amy wouldn’t have responded. I get to my feet, shaking out the stiffness in my legs, and that’s when I realize that Carlo was coming into the sitting room not as if he’d entered through the front door, but as if he’d just walked down the stairs. He steps into the light and says something and Amy screams and whirls round, and I flinch; there’s a crack as her mug hits the kitchen floor and shatters. What the hell is he doing?

‘That happens quite often too,’ says Theo, matter-of-factly. ‘Can we play Minecraft, Uncle Nick?’

‘Yeah,’ I say. I have an uneasy feeling. ‘I’ll just go and see if your mum needs any help.’

The pool of tea, so stewed it’s almost black, slides across the tiles.

19

AMY

‘No, I do it,’ he says and holds up his hands. ‘You, back. No shoes.’ Carlo points to their bare feet. She’s surrounded by a slick of tea and smashed china; Nick is hovering ineffectually behind her. The boy knows where everything is, naturally. He sweeps up the bits of broken cup with one of those long-handled dustpans and brushes, and then mops up the spill.

‘I’ll pay for the mug,’ Amy says.

‘No. My fault.’ He points one finger at his chest. ‘I make you…’ He mimes jumping.

‘I saw,’ says Nick. ‘What were you doing?’

Lotte and Theo sneak in quietly behind them and get out the iPad.

‘I come to see if you are okay. Need anything. I knock.’

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t hear,’ she says.

He smiles at her, his teeth white in his tanned face. He’s handsome, but with an arrogant air that she thinks a particular type of young, good-looking man can have. He’s in a muscle vest and his shoulders are broad, his biceps defined; no doubt from working on the farm and renovating this house.

‘We don’t. Need anything,’ Nick says. He’s looking aggressively at Carlo, but she doesn’t know why.

‘A cup of tea,’ Amy says, trying for a feeble joke.

‘I’ll make it.’ Nick doesn’t offer one to Carlo. ‘Where is everyone?’ he asks, his brow furrowing, as he fills the kettle.

‘Luca is in his room writing his dissertation. Dad went for a short walk by himself. Everyone else is at the beach. They didn’t want to wake you. I was going to try and encourage Lotte and Theo to go in the pool again, without the whole family standing around watching them.’