George’s enthusiasm, which I often encouraged and even more often egged on, was a bit overwhelming, so I was relieved when Dom ordered him to pipe down and go upstairs and get into his pyjamas. For the last time. Or else.

‘But Daaaad, Wolfie said the—’

‘NOW, George. No arguments. You can come back down for some of Danny’s chocolate cake if you make it quick.’

Knows how to pick his battles, does George. It’s what gives him the edge; I’ve always known how much I could learn from that kid. I saw him weighing up the situation and getting ready to negotiate. Get in there, Georgie.

‘Wolfie’s still going to be here when I come back though, right?’

‘Well, that’s entirely up to Wolfie.’ Dom looked over at her and wrinkled his forehead enquiringly. It was such a casual gesture it made me wonder just how long they’d been chatting before I got home. And about what.

‘Yeah, sure. Well, I mean I’ll have to head off soon, but I can definitely wait for you to come back down, George. And I do like cake.’

Wolfie flicked a look over to me as she spoke, and for a second our eyes connected. It was very quick, but the look left me slightly rattled. It had almost felt like a challenge.

Satisfied with his side of the deal, George signed off on the contract and ran out of the kitchen. I could hear his little feet landing hard on every step, and after each stomp, Gentleman, who shadowed him like an amateur secret agent, let out a high-pitched yip. It never really took much to get those two excited, but I think even my dog had twigged this was not your regular kind of night.

Dom busied himself separating soggy chocolate cake from cardboard, chicken and fish sticks, and Wolfie and I sat on opposite sides of the table and faced off in silence, considering our options. Or I certainly was. Although they seemed fairly sparse once I’d eliminated dropping to the floor and crawling out to my shed commando-style without anyone noticing.

The tea and water had sharpened me up a little, but I knew I was going to have to put in a bit more effort if I didn’t want Wolfie to get the impression she was dealing with a complete lunatic. For all I knew, she’d run away from home and was just here on the off chance I’d lend her a tenner, and a kid out on the streets of London after seven o’clock wasn’t exactly headline news. But then, it also wasn’t nothing, was it? God knows I was on the streets more often than I wasn’t at that age, but they were different times and I’d had a reason to stay out. Which made me think.

My drooping eyelids were threatening to overwhelm me, and I jumped when Dom placed a stack of side plates down and prodded me in the arm. Wolfie was chasing crumbs around the table with her finger, and I felt a stab of guilt in my solar plexus when I remembered how heartily I’d promised Dom I’d do the clean-up after breakfast that morning. He jabbed me again, and when I looked up, he twitched his head and gave the side-eye in Wolfie’s direction.