‘He was our dog back then. He used to love it here, chasing stones, rushing in and out of the water. I would hide my eyes and Lizzie would hide chocolates in the sand. Those round chocolates wrapped in gold paper. We pretended they were doubloons. Treasure trove. I had to find them.’

‘Just you and Lizzie? And Rufus?’

He nodded. ‘Mostly. Fliss would come sometimes. Her children, my cousins, were all grown up by the time I arrived. Jamie and Bess are in their forties now.’

‘I hope you realize,’ Cara says, ‘that everything after this is going to be an anticlimax. Unless you’re suggesting that I live here on the beach. Didn’t I see a little cottage way over there? A pink one? And one further up the valley?’

He smiles, shaking his head. ‘No, no. This is just to get you into the mood. To give you an idea of what the South Hams can offer. The Salcombe estuary is only the beginning.’

‘So where next?’ she asks, finishing her bacon and eggs, pushing her plate to one side and picking up her coffee cup. ‘What’s the agenda for the rest of the day? I still feel that after this everything is going to be a let-down.’

‘I think we’ll drive back into Dartmouth,’ he says, ‘and have a walk around the town. You can get the feel of the place and we can look at some of those properties we printed off.’

‘I hope you’ve got a map,’ she says. ‘It’s a long time since we stayed with Max and did some sightseeing, and I’ve lost my bearings completely. I mean, where are we in relation to Salcombe? I feel as if I’ve gone through the looking-glass at some point this morning and I’m in another country.’

Sam picks up the little satchel he brought with him from the car and opens it. He draws out an Ordnance Survey map and the print-outs of the properties in Dartmouth.

‘Have a look at these before we go,’ he says. ‘Here’s the map. You see we’re not very far round the coast from Salcombe.’

He spreads out the map and Cara leans over it.

‘Will we come back here?’ she asks almost wistfully.

He grins at her and decides to try a little tease. ‘Probably. On the way home we’ll drive along to Slapton Sands and if you’re good I’ll buy you an ice cream.’

She bursts out laughing. ‘One with a chocolate flake in it?’

He laughs, too, relieved that she isn’t offended. ‘Only if you’re very, very good. Come on. Let’s get going.’