Jack smiled at the receptionist. She gave him a haughty look that would have been right at home in London.

‘I have an appointment to see Erik Haldorsen,’ he said.

‘Oh, yes, you’re the Englishman from the island. I’ll go and check to see if Erik is available.’ She stood up and walked over to a glass door. Two seconds later she returned and almost smiled. ‘You can wait there. Erik will be with you soon.’

‘Thank you.’ Instead of sitting down, he went for a stroll around the room. The receptionist kept an eye on him and smiled whenever he met her eyes.

The view from the windows faced Haraldsgaten. It didn’t look very busy, even though it was midday. Perhaps it was a slow day, he thought. He hoped it wouldn’t take too long. He was eager to return to Ninni.

‘Mr Greene?’

Jack turned around to see a man in the first suit he had seen in the town since he’d arrived. The man looked more like an estate agent than Mats did.

‘And you are Mr Haldorsen, I presume?’ Jack couldn’t help himself.

Haldorsen smiled so the caps on his teeth reflected in the fluorescent light. ‘Indeed I am. I am so thrilled that you have come.’ He shook Jack’s hand. ‘But please call me Erik. Follow me.’

Jack restrained himself from pulling a face at the receptionist. She ignored him.

Haldorsen let him pass first into an impossibly huge office. ‘Make yourself at home. I understand that you’re a chef?’

Jack nodded. ‘You’ve checked up on me.’

‘Of course I have. You were a chef at a Michelin-star level restaurant. That’s pretty impressive for someone so young, I think. I’m guessing you’re eager to return to London, get rid of the old homestead,’ Haldorsen said, grinning like a wolf.

Homestead, Jack thought. Okay.

‘For the right price, of course,’ Haldorsen continued.

Jack smiled. ‘That’s why I’m here. I understand you have an offer for me.’

Haldorsen’s smile reached his hairline. ‘Straight to the point. Good, good. Now, as you have probably realised, properties like yours are not something that come along every day. And by that I mean they’re not easy to get rid of. Fortunately for you, I’m interested.’

He looks even less of a farmer than me, Jack thought. He didn’t interrupt the man.

‘I’ve had a proposal prepared for you. Do you want me to read it to you?’

‘Is it in Norwegian?’ Jack smiled.

Haldorsen laughed. ‘Ah, the wonderful British sense of humour, I think. No, of course not. It’s all in English. You can take a look at it, and then tell me what you think.’

Jack leafed through the papers and tried to look as if the figure on the last page didn’t impress him. That was a lot of money, he thought. Enough to get a restaurant started and then some.

‘What do you think?’ Haldorsen looked excited.

‘I’m interested, of course, but I need some time to consider my options,’ Jack said.