‘It was. I adored it. Wish I were back here now. Which bit of your life would you most like to go back to?’

‘I wouldn’t,’ said Marnie decisively. ‘There are places I’d like to revisit, but I wouldn’t want to go back in time. No way! That’s a very threatening thought. I only want to go forward.’

‘I’d like to go back to . . . oh, to many, many times.’ Louisa looked wistful. ‘I’d like to go back to nearly all my childhood. Everything was so safe then.’

‘But to me, you see, everything was unsafe then. How different we are! Yet when we first met, you struck me as a devil-may-care sort of character.’

‘Yes, that’s right. I am really,’ said Louisa, as though to remind herself. ‘Come on, let’s go down.’

Though not such hard going as the way up, the descent of the twisty narrow steps was certainly more hazardous, especially when they met a party coming up.

‘Christopher’d have trouble getting up or down here on his gammy leg. I’m glad we haven’t got him with us,’ said Marnie.

‘Well, that certainly makes a change!’ Louisa teased, with a grin.

Marnie laughed back at her. ‘Oh, Louisa,’ she said, on an impulse, ‘I do feel lucky. You don’t know how happy I am.’

‘I can guess – you’ve got an almost visible aura,’ said Louisa, and added, ‘and I’m so, so pleased for you. I really am.’

After the strenuous efforts of the tower, they pottered happily round the town, looking at the shops and visiting some of Louisa’s favourite old haunts. ‘I have to take you to Janetta’s at some stage.’ she said. ‘They have ice-cream to die for, but let’s have lunch first. We could pig out before we go home!’

They found an excellent pizza place and gossiped comfortably, telling each other about their respective families and homes, comparing their very different upbringings.

‘How’s your owl?’ asked Marnie.

‘All right as far as I know. I spoke to my mother the other day and she said he was fine; sleeping and eating – mostly sleeping. That’s par for the course.’ She looked down at her plate and suddenly pushed it away. ‘I’m defeated,’ she said. ‘I can’t finish all this. It’s yummy but too much.’ Marnie sent her a questioning look. Louisa said abruptly: ‘Funny you should ask about Mr Brown, though. I had a terrible dream about him a couple of nights ago.’

‘What was it?’

‘Well, I was wandering about desperately looking for something – I’ve no idea what or why, you know how it is in dreams – I just knew I had to find something – and I opened a door on to a huge empty room, and Mr Brown was lying there on the floor. Dead.’

‘No! How horrible! What happened next?’