And worst of all, they thought they were doing the best thing for her and many people would agree. But it wasn’t what she wanted. She’d go mad in a communal place. She wasn’t a joiner, never had been.

Shortly afterwards the taxi pulled up outside the care home. Elise refused point-blank to move out of it, batting away Mary’s hand when she tried to drag her out of the vehicle and clinging to a convenient handhold with the strength of desperation.

‘Can you help me with her?’ Mary asked the driver.

‘No, missus. Not my job to force old ladies to do something they don’t want.’

‘It’s for her own good!’

‘Not if she don’t want it. I don’t like to see old ladies crying like that. I’d never do it to my mother.’

‘Then I’ll have to fetch someone from the home to help me. Wait here.’

When she’d gone, the driver turned round. ‘You want to go somewhere else, lady, you say so quickly. I been listening and you don’t sound to me as if you’ve lost your marbles.’

Elise stared at him and for a few seconds her brain refused to work, then she said breathlessly, ‘I definitely haven’t lost my marbles, Ali. Please drive out of the car park straight away so that she can’t get help to drag me out of the car. I need to see my lawyer. Will you take me to him?’

After another searching look at her, Ali nodded and said, ‘A lawyer is a good idea.’ He did as she’d asked and drove off.

He was only just in time. As they drove towards the exit, she heard someone yelling at them to stop.

‘Drive faster!’ Elise said. ‘We need to go towards Swindon.’ She gave him Victor’s address, then slumped back in her seat, her heart pounding.

‘You all right, lady?’

‘Yes. Yes, I am. And thank you very much indeed, Ali. I definitely don’t need to be put in a care home.’

‘Those places aren’t happy. I been in them. But the people I took there really had lost their marbles, poor things. You haven’t.’

‘Is that why you’re doing this?’

‘Partly. I got a mother about your age. You look a bit like her. She lives with us.’ He chuckled. ‘She drives me and my wife crazy sometimes, but we’d never put her in a home. Never. She looked after me when I was little, now I look after her. That’s what we do in my family.’

‘She’s lucky to have you. My son is in Australia.’

‘He don’t come back to visit you?’

‘No. He says he’s never coming back to England again.’

‘Bad son. Bad niece. You’re an unlucky lady.’

‘No. My luck turned today when I met you. Your mother would be very proud of how you’re helping me, Ali.’

She could see his broad grin in the rear-view mirror, and for the first time that day she did indeed feel lucky.