They’d have to check the local regulations, but she was quite sure she could set up and manage a small café, even if she couldn’t be the main person working there. She was a good organiser and a good cook, too. And they could have the back part of the ground floor as a small gallery, selling the pieces the artists made – and taking a commission on those sales, of course.

There was a faint sound of applause and she looked round in surprise, but there was no one nearby.

‘It’s just us,’ a woman’s deep, melodious voice seemed to echo around her. ‘The family ghosts.’

There was laughter at that phrase and it sounded to come from several women.

Then another, lighter voice added, ‘Your idea will work out very well for Dennings, Nell, but only if you persevere and don’t let anyone get the better of you.’

As the voices faded, Nell took a deep breath. It wasn’t her imagination, definitely not, but oh my, conversing with ghosts certainly took some getting used to. It made her feel spaced out, not exactly dizzy but drifting for a moment or two. That was the only way she could describe it.

What would Angus say to this latest encounter? And what would he think of her idea? He’d probably give one of his wry smiles and suspend judgement about the ghosts, but he might like her idea. Managed properly, it’d bring in regular money.

After clearing up, she went into the room they called the library. It was such a peaceful place, she loved spending time there. Yesterday she’d searched two large cupboards and labelled the different packages of documents she’d found with sticky notes. Today she intended to go through the big drawers full of family papers and account books, which formed the bottom layer of the row of bookcases that covered the whole of one wall. She’d done no more than peep into them until now.

Again she began noting down what was in each and sticking a list on the front of each drawer as she finished going through it. Then she found something useful and stopped to draw in a deep, happy breath. Eureka! She’d have to wait for Angus to resurface to check it out properly, but these papers and account books looked promising.

How many other secrets did this old house and its grounds hold? How fascinating it was to live here. Her parents had chosen to emigrate to Australia. She had returned to England after her sons grew up and felt equally at home in both countries. Though she missed her sons, two of them were married, one with a child, and she had Angus now. She already loved Dennings and somehow knew that she’d stay here from now onwards.

Choices could be difficult, bringing happiness but losses too. She’d heard it called the migrants’ dilemma, having people and places you loved in both countries, and now she too was facing it.