She chose the seat with its back to the window and managed to resist her natural urge to brush away the dust before sitting down. Aside from a general lack of use, the room retained the formality it must have had when it was used for best. There was no television, for a start, and none of the day-to day-clutter that family life usually generates. Through the murky glass of a Victorian display cabinet, Pip could see several pieces of china in the distinctive pale blue and white of Wedgwood jasperware, together with various other ornaments that looked like expensive collectors’ pieces rather than tacky souvenirs. Her sharp eye also spotted a coffee service that she thought might be an original Clarice Cliff. There had clearly been money here at one time, Pip could see.

Pip could sense Evelyn sizing her up and hoped that she wasn’t found to be lacking. The old woman’s pale eyes were staring at her intensely, unwaveringly, like those of a bird of prey. Pip had the impression that they missed nothing, but she was determined not to feel intimidated. She had withstood far deeper scrutiny than this in the court room. If Evelyn was hoping to frighten her, then she was going to be disappointed.

So far, things seemed to be going according to plan. Pip had managed to get into the house, at least, even if Evelyn didn’t quite know what to make of her. It felt to Pip as if the pair of them were playing a tactical game of cat and mouse, each waiting for the other to reveal themselves first. It made a change to find herself pitched against a worthy adversary, and she realised that she was enjoying herself, even though the pleasure was tinged with a bloom of anxiety that she might not be able to get what she wanted from the encounter. At work she had learned to use silence to her advantage, and so she fixed a gentle smile on her lips and waited.

‘Well, then,’ said Evelyn after a second or two. She was clearly less comfortable with silence than Pip. ‘You say you have my diary.’

‘Yes,’ replied Pip. ‘It came into the shop in a box of books. I thought it was probably there by mistake, so I retrieved it and then did a little detective work to find out where it had come from.’

‘I saw you outside the other day,’ Evelyn said.

‘Was that you? At the window?’ Pip asked disingenuously. ‘I thought I saw someone.’

‘And may I have my property back?’ Evelyn asked. Her tone was bordering on sharp, and Pip, noting this, decided to change tactics. She didn’t want to be dismissed before she had managed to start a real conversation.

‘Of course,’ she said, reaching into her bag and bringing out the flowery diary.