Before my next clients, I ducked into the bathroom. But, on closing the door behind me, my hand flew to my collar: something wet and icy was creeping down my neck. When I looked up, my heart sank. A steady drip was coming from a tiny crack in the ceiling and the carpet where I was standing was sodden. Our bathroom was a one-story extension that had been built onto the back of the building, so it was perfectly possible the water was coming from a gutter either next door or above, but with clients waiting, I didn’t have time to check.

So, I opted for a more temporary measure and fetched a basin.

At four o’clock, while Marina was finally seeing a client about some conveyancing case she needed to finish up, I was standing at reception telling Leah about the drip when the front door opened again. The first item to appear was an enormous purple umbrella with yellow and orange flowers, and the second was Phyllis.

Dressed in a red trench coat that reached her ankles and a green bucket hat, she shook the brolly out, took the hat off and ran a hand over her brow, flicking drops of rain onto the carpet. “Jesus, it’s biblical out there.”

Leah grinned. “Need a towel, Phyllis?”

She shook her head. “Nah, I’ll only get drenched again on the way back, thanks anyway pet. Those brollies aren’t worth a curse. That’s rare weather.” She leaned her considerable bosom on the counter. “I just called in to say that it’s all arranged. The Oak from six o’clock onwards.”

I frowned. “What’s all arranged?”

She clicked her teeth impatiently. “Your welcome home ‘do’ of course. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

I had. I’d forgotten completely. I was all set to head back to Malin once I’d seen off the last client. “Ah, Phyllis. I don’t need anything arranged. I’ve only been gone six months. It’s hardly worthy of a ‘do’.”

“Aye, you might have been gone only six months, but you were missed,” she said firmly, casting a glance at Marina who had emerged from the downstairs office and was making her way upstairs with a file. I presumed the client was still in there. “Liam will be there and so will Hal and, well, a wile lot of other people. They all want to welcome you home.”

I think it was the word “home” that got to me. I realized I’d sounded ungrateful and so I gave in. “Okay, then. Thanks, Phyllis. It’s kind of you to go to so much trouble.”

The bookseller grinned in smug satisfaction. I’d long since learned that Phyllis generally got her own way, managing to push her own agenda with such gentle stealth that it was only afterwards you realized she’d been the one in charge all along.