‘I’d worry all the time if you were on your own in that big old house, and with the best will in the world, I can’t give up work to look after you.’

‘I wouldn’t ask you to do that!’ Apart from the fact that Mary had a family of her own, if they had to live together she and her niece would drive each other mad in two days flat – two hours even!

Elise admitted, though only to herself, that she was indeed struggling to look after such a big house, even with hired help. She wasn’t going to admit that to her nieces, though, because they were such a bossy pair. Now their own children were almost grown up, they had joined what she called ‘The Me! Me! Me! Brigade’, people who thought only of themselves, however much they pretended to care for others.

She was planning to sell the house herself and buy a smaller one, and to do it without telling them and having them interfering.

What worried her most was how she would manage the move. Clearing things out and packing took a lot of strength and energy, and she wouldn’t be able to lift and carry things for a good while to come. Still, she could no doubt pay someone to do all that under her own supervision. Life would be much easier once she was allowed to drive again. She realised her niece was still talking at her and tried once more to concentrate.

‘We’ll see to everything when you move out of that huge old place, Auntie. There are people who clear homes, actually, so we can easily find someone to do that for you. And you’ll sell the house easily because they’re crying out for old places to knock down. They can put up three modern houses on that piece of land, if not four.’

Elise spoke slowly and clearly as she repeated what she had said before, ‘I am not going into a care home, Mary. And I’m not having some stranger throwing out my possessions. When it becomes necessary to clear the house, I’ll do it myself.’

‘The time has come for some plain speaking, Auntie. You’ll have to resign yourself to being helped. And I must say you don’t seem to have taken on board my side of things, let alone showing a bit of gratitude. I have a job as well as a family and I’ve just been offered a promotion. If I turn it down, the manager won’t ask me again. They don’t give women as many chances as men, you know. There’s still a glass ceiling, however much they pretend there isn’t.’

Elise bit back angry words. ‘Congratulations on the promotion, Mary. And I am grateful for all you’ve done. Very. I can’t thank you enough for stepping in when I had that fall. Just leave me to make my own arrangements from now on. I don’t even need crutches any more. I’m doing really well with a walking stick, which shows how much better I am. I shan’t need to ask anything else of you.’