The act of walking up the driveway triggered a rerun of the conversation she’d had with Sid when she’d returned from the lunch with Barkley. Clovis! There he was, tucked into a small corner of her mind, patiently awaiting his turn for her attention. What was she going to do if he came back again? Would she slam the door in his face, or at least let him explain what he wanted? She had assumed the danger was past, her turbulent hormonal responses kept hidden from her trustful husband. And now, if she readmitted him, saying nothing about it to Drew, that would compound the secret. Thinking this through made her feel trapped and cheated. Hadn’t she behaved impeccably so far, telling herself that the man had no feelings for her, and that her own reactions were therefore stupid and shameful? Clovis Biddulph was just an automatic philanderer, who gave the same Gallic treatment to every woman he met. Barkley had pointed out, on her first sight of him in Broad Campden, that he made no attempt to ameliorate his charms, wearing an expensive male fragrance and paying close attention to his clothes. His grandmother had been French, which apparently was enough to confer that special streak of sex appeal that rarely manifested in an Englishman.144

It was ten past four and the builders were obviously finishing up for the day. ‘You’re back, then,’ said Dave. ‘No need for us to set up the barricades, after all.’

‘Did you have your fingerprints taken?’

He shook his head, almost regretfully. ‘They were no bother – hardly noticed us at all. Said they just needed to get an idea of the layout and so forth. Took some pictures and were up in the roof for thirty minutes or so. Sounds as if they’ve got a lot on at the moment, and this was just what they didn’t need. Not like on the telly,’ he concluded.

‘No,’ said Thea doubtfully.

‘We’ll be back tomorrow, then, bright and early. Have a look, why don’t you? See where we’ve got to today.’

She obediently stepped through the doorway that was eventually to become an archway and duly admired the installed kitchen equipment, and the completed hole where the window would go. ‘Amazing!’ she enthused. ‘It’s a transformation.’

‘Surprising what you can do in a day,’ said Sid, with a smirk. ‘Mind you, we had everything ready and waiting, last week. Just a matter of slotting it all in.’

‘When will there be a back door?’

‘Wednesday,’ said Dave. ‘It’s being delivered tomorrow. Won’t take long, then. Thursday’s tiling and painting and making a start on the bathroom. Same thing up there – it’s all ready and waiting. We’re still hoping to get finished by the end of Friday.’

It was all blessedly practical. A job to be done and men with the right skills to do it. No secrets or 145mysteries – unless they were cunningly concealing terrible mistakes in the plumbing. She gave them her most dazzling smile and went through into the rest of the house. ‘Bar the door now,’ Dave called after her. ‘And don’t touch it till we come back tomorrow.’