The small house fascinated Harriet now, as it had fascinated a lot of children and even grown-ups over the years, with its dainty figures in period costume and its beautifully made miniature furniture. It was probably worth a lot of money but she didn’t intend to sell it. ‘I’ll leave it to you when I die,’ she offered.

‘I’d love to have it, but I’d far rather you didn’t die for a zillion years.’

‘So would I, and I’ll keep taking my vitamins, but in the end you don’t get much choice.’

She sat down to rest while Harriet was making lunch and started to put together a list of what she had to do: find an estate agent and put this place on the market, buy another house which had a room suitable for a studio, then arrange the move. There’d be plenty of time to search for the right place because houses like hers didn’t sell quickly.

At the end of the busiest day since her accident, she rested again while her young helper made tea.

When the doorbell rang, Harriet called, ‘I’ll get it.’

She came back followed by her mother. ‘Mum wants to see you. I said you were tired and she shouldn’t stay long.’

‘I won’t upset my aunt, if that’s what you’re worrying about, Harriet,’ Mary said sharply. ‘I can see now that I was mistaken about her needing to go into a care home, but I meant it for the best.’

They were looking at one another like two dogs wondering whether to start a fight, Elise thought in sudden amusement. ‘Why don’t you carry on making our tea, dear?’ she suggested.

‘All right. But call me if you need me.’

When Harriet had gone Elise smiled at her niece. ‘Why don’t you sit down, Mary? I’m a bit tired and having a nice rest.’

‘You shouldn’t let Harriet tire you out.’

‘Don’t worry. She’s tried to stop me doing too much, and sometimes I’ve heeded her, but I’m eager to sort out the house and get rid of all the clutter. I’m told it’s more attractive to buyers not to have a lot of things lying around.’

‘That’s why I came.’ She hesitated. ‘Look don’t take this amiss, but I told you Kerry and I showed an estate agent round while you were in hospital. He brought a man to see the house the very next day.’ She stopped, looking as if she was expecting her aunt to be angry.

‘I’m too old to hold a grudge as long as you don’t try to boss me around again.’ She reached out to pat Mary’s tense hand. ‘You and I are still family, you know. Go on.’

‘I gather the man wanted to buy it, but we didn’t get round to discussing his offer because you got better and … well, you know what happened. So anyway, maybe you could get in touch with the estate agent and he could ask his client if he’s still interested.’