I’d just set myself up in bed with tea and one of the new bundles of letters when there was a soft tap on the door. For a second, I wondered if it was Pete, back for another visit (he did seem to be getting quite fond of us), but before I got any further with that thought, there was another, louder tap and the door squeaked inwards.

‘Danny? Are you awake?’ To say Wolfie was not who I’d expected is putting it mildly. When her head appeared in the doorway, I almost felt my jaw drop.

‘Sorry. I knocked but . . .’ She trailed off as she took in the interior of the shed. ‘Wow, it’s actually pretty cool in here, isn’t it?’

I threw off the covers, a little embarrassed to be discovered by my niece tucked up in bed like an OAP.

‘Wolfie! Hi. Hey. Come in. Sorry, I’m not really in bed, I’m reading. Pete brought round some more letters and . . . Well, there’s not really too many options in here so I thought I might as well, you know, get in.’

I knew I was rambling, but as I was making excuses, I was mentally trying to work out some seating arrangements. If I was going to make a habit of receiving visitors, I really should think about investing in some better furniture. A comfortable chair, a footstool, a rug . . . Wait, was I going to make a habit of it? The thought was surprisingly not unpleasant but it didn’t help me with my current dilemma, so I swung my legs out of bed, smoothed down the covers and gestured for Wolfie to sit.

‘Take the pew of honour, Wolfie. Mind your bonce on the wall. I’ll fire up the kettle again. Tea?’

Wolfie sat down lightly on the bed and immediately curled her feet underneath her.

‘Cool. Thanks, Danny. That’d be nice.’ She tilted her head so she could see out of the window and I wondered, with a stomach-churning lurch, if she’d seen me looking up at her bedroom earlier.

I busied myself making her tea, enjoying the smugness of not having to sniff the milk and being absolutely sure the spare mug was clean, because I’d washed it when Pete and I had finished. Even so, I wiped it with a tea towel (also clean) for good measure while I racked my brain for something appropriate, but vaguely cool, to say.

‘So, to what do I owe the pleasure at this time of night? Did you finish your, um, homework thingy? Your assignment?’

A clear fail, because even though I was doing my best to act casual, I was definitely a bit rattled. Because, while just about everything to do with Wolfie and Lou was dangerously beyond the borders of my comfort zone, being in such close proximity to my niece without the buffer of Dom or George or even Gentleman made me genuinely nervous.

‘What? Oh yeah, that’s finished.’ Wolfie waved her arm dismissively and I wondered again if it had even existed. ‘I just thought I’d come out and see what you’ve done with the place. George told me you’ve been doing some renovating.’