‘Not so far,’ Sue said. ‘I’ve tried to call him a few times, but he’s hiding from me. He does that, sticks his head in the sand so that he doesn’t have to face reality. Although I suppose we have both been doing that for a year or so. Pretending that we can go on, when really we hardly know each other any more.’

‘You seem very … Zen about it,’ Blake said.

‘Just accepting, I think,’ Sue said. ‘My friends want me to get drunk and have revenge sex with strangers, as if!’

‘I don’t advise it,’ Blake said. ‘Sex with strangers is always so soulless. No, when the time is right you should find a lover who will make you laugh, that’s the best cure for a broken heart that I know.’

‘Has your heart been broken?’ Sue asked him.

‘Not yet,’ Blake said. ‘But I’ve got a feeling it’s about to be.’

Sue blushed as their dishes were cleared away, and replaced with a perfectly round, steaming Christmas pudding. As Sue dug into it with her spoon, little orbs of coloured lights floated out into the room, like tiny little fairies, floating around their heads.

‘How has he done that!’ Sue exclaimed, delighted, as she tried to catch an orb in her hand.

‘No idea, but it’s wonderful. Do you love it?’ Blake asked her.

‘Oh, Blake, I love it. It’s magical!’ Sue’s eyes met his across the table and before she knew what she was doing she had reached out and taken his hand in hers. ‘Thank you so much for this, you just don’t know how much I needed a little magic in my life this Christmas.’

‘You know what—’ Blake brought her fingers to his mouth ‘—I think I have some idea.’

‘Wow.’ Blake looked up at the turrets and ramparts of Castle House as they soared into the starry sky. ‘This place is amazing.’

‘Yes.’ Sue nodded, pressing the flat of her palm against a stone pillar. ‘Yes, it is. Well, Blake, thank you so much for dinner, it really was wonderful.’ She offered her hand, but Blake didn’t take it.

‘My pleasure,’ Blake said. ‘Can I come in? Coffee? Maybe a tour?’

Sue took a backwards step up the stairs. ‘Oh, it’s rather late and … um …’

‘Of course.’ Blake shook his head. ‘Another time.’

Sue waited, watching as Blake headed across the courtyard to the portcullis.

‘Wait!’ she called softly after him. He turned, his hands in his pockets. ‘Well, it’s just why, why do you want to come in? Is it really for coffee and a tour?’

‘Is that what you want it to be?’ Blake took two or three steps back towards her.

‘I want to know what you are thinking,’ Sue said. ‘What this is really all about.’