‘Lorna? Where are you are you ringing from?’ Louisa heard her ask in an uncharacteristically sharp voice. Then: ‘Tomorrow? You must be joking! That’s ridiculously short notice. Well, yes . . . of course we could have him ready, but that’s not the point. It just doesn’t give him time to adjust to the idea of another sudden change and I have to say that next week would be very much easier for us this end . . . we’ve still got a group here.’ It was clear that a heated argument was ensuing. Isobel started to pace about the kitchen. ‘That’s totally untrue! I never said I’d be glad to see the back of him!’ she exploded, running her free hand through her hair so that it looked at as if she were facing a force nine gale. Louisa got up and made for the door, feeling uncomfortably like an eavesdropper, but Isobel waved her back and mouthed ‘Don’t go’ at her.

‘Oh, all right, all right,’ she said eventually. ‘No I most certainly don’t want you to come here. If you’ve booked their flights, so be it, we’ll take him to Edinburgh and Sheena will come with him to Heathrow – but you’d better be there yourself to meet them and don’t blame me if you have a very bothered son on your hands.’ She slammed the telephone down, slumped in a chair and looked at Louisa with despair.

‘I don’t know anyone, anyone who can get me worked up the way Lorna can!’ she said. ‘They’re staying at the Ritz all this week before flying back to the States – and what it’ll be like for Rory cooped up in a grand hotel I can’t think. Other people would think of lovely things to do with their child but I’ll bet Lorna and her husband will be too busy networking in high circles to have any time for him. What’s so awful is that I don’t think for one moment that she really wants him there. I think she just wants to wind me up – or else she has a hidden agenda that I haven’t cottoned on to yet. She says if we don’t put him on the flight tomorrow she’ll hire a car and come and fetch him herself, which is blackmail because she knows I’d do anything to stop her setting foot in this house again. Oh, shit, shit – where’s that box of tissues gone?’

‘In spite of everything, you really love him, don’t you, Iz?’ Louisa looked at her curiously as Isobel seized a handful of tissues from the box she held out. ‘You couldn’t be this upset if you didn’t.’