‘Don’t you worry about that,’ said Giles quickly. ‘We’ll sort something out. I’m delighted you’re going to stay on with us, and I know Catherine will be pleased too. She’s been singing your praises as one of her star pupils.’ Catherine nodded assent. Giles went on: ‘I’m sorry Glendrochatt hasn’t been a success for your husband, but these courses aren’t for everybody. You stay and get on with your writing and we’ll take care of you. I’ll go and see that Stanley gets taken to whatever train he wants to catch. Don’t worry. I won’t fall out with him.’ He gave Win a reassuring smile and went off to see that Isobel wasn’t suffering an earful of Stanley’s abuse and make sure that he was helped on his journey away from Glendrochatt as swiftly as possible.

Christopher went over to Marnie, who was standing on her own, looking uncertain. ‘Shall we collect some coffee and take it outside?’ he suggested. ‘It’s too nice a day not to make the most of it while we can. I don’t think we can help much here.’

Marnie nodded, pleased and surprised that he should seek her out. The other women had immediately clustered round Win in a supportive group like a swarm of bees around a queen, but she – as usual, she thought despairingly – while longing to make the right sympathetic gesture had hung back just too long and now felt she would be intruding if she muscled in on the rest of them. Louisa, she noticed, had immediately gone over to Win and given her a spontaneous hug – and doubtless she would now be saying exactly the right thing, thought Marnie enviously. She followed Christopher through the swing doors into the bigger room next door with a sense of relief.

‘Where shall we go?’ she asked when they’d collected their coffee.

‘Let’s go and find somewhere to sit that overlooks the loch.’

They went across the courtyard to the front of the house and found an old white seat, the paint flaking somewhat, under one of the huge beech trees. They sat in silence for a few moments, drinking in the view, inhaling the honeyed scent of azaleas and enjoying the peace.

‘My mother tells me that the feel of the sun on one’s back is one of the physical pleasures that remains undiminished with old age,’ said Christopher.

‘How old is she?’