There was a warmth to her smile that spoke to the part of Evelyn that needed to be acknowledged, to be talked about. She hadn’t realised she still had that, but here it was. It must be the actress in her, she thought, that made her enjoy being the centre of attention. Fancy it still being inside her after all this time.

‘It’s just the gossip that makes people remember,’ she replied modestly. ‘There were two tragic deaths in this house in almost as many months. It’s a small town and people have long memories. They don’t forget things like that.’

Pip shrugged in a way that suggested she wasn’t convinced. ‘And do you ever go out?’ she asked casually, as if not going out was the most normal thing in the world.

Evelyn thought about this question. In her heart, she wasn’t the kind of person who allowed herself to be confined to a house, but actually she could barely remember the last time she had left it. Why was that? she wondered.

‘Not often,’ she replied. ‘There doesn’t seem much to go out for.’

‘Don’t you even walk along the beach, watch the waves?’ Pip sounded incredulous. ‘I mean, with it being just there, just across the street.’

When had she stopped doing that? Evelyn couldn’t remember. It hadn’t been a conscious decision; it had simply happened over time. And once she became stuck indoors she had lost the habit of going out. And then a winter had arrived, the wind coming off the sea cutting through her clothes and eating into her bones, so it had been easier to stay in. And then . . .

These were just excuses, of course, and although she didn’t feel like a recluse, she supposed she might be one, or at least appear that way.

‘No,’ she said to Pip. ‘Not any more. I used to, but then . . .’

‘And would you like to go out?’ Pip asked.

Evelyn paused. Would she? Did she feel that her life would be better if she ventured beyond her own front door again?

She was considering her answer when Pip added, ‘Because I could take you. I mean, we could go together. If you like.’

Again, Pip blushed, as if she thought she might have gone further than was appropriate. She was such a lovely girl, Evelyn thought. This afternoon had shown her that. She could tell she was caring and considerate simply by the way she had helped in the kitchen, quietly and with no fuss. Even knowing barely anything about her, Evelyn believed she had got Pip pegged.