Daisy chose to ignore her brother’s teasing and she followed Nick from the room. The floorboards creaked as they negotiated the narrow passageways, and there were patches where the plaster had crumbled away from the walls, leaving the laths exposed. But if there were whispers from the past in the old house, the memories were happy ones.

‘I’ll introduce you to my housekeeper, Mrs Boynton, or Mrs Bee as I call her,’ Nick said over his shoulder as they approached the kitchen at the back of the house. ‘Mrs Bee has been with the family ever since I can remember, and she’s a wonderful cook. I don’t know why she stays on but she looked after my father in his last days – she was devoted to him.’

Daisy gathered from his tone that Mrs Bee’s opinion mattered, and as they entered the kitchen she braced herself for the inevitable interrogation. But it was the size of the kitchen and the height of the beamed ceiling that took her by surprise. At the far end of the room there was a huge open fireplace as well as an ancient range. The heat from a blazing log fire contrasted sharply with the chill rising from the flagstone floor.

A thin elderly woman, dressed in black from head to foot apart from a spotless white apron, rose from a chair at the table where she had been writing something in a ledger. ‘Good morning, Master Nick.’

‘I’ve brought Miss Marshall to meet you, Mrs Bee. She’s Toby’s sister.’

Mrs Bee looked Daisy up and down and a slow smile softened the harsh lines on her face. ‘You’ll be the young lady who’s just moved into Creek Cottage.’

‘I’m staying with my aunt and uncle, although I might return to London. I haven’t quite decided.’

‘We need new blood in the village. I hope you’ll make your home in Little Creek, Miss Marshall.’

‘If anyone can persuade her I’m sure you can, Mrs Bee.’ Nick leaned over to brush the housekeeper’s thin cheek with a kiss. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

‘You’re just like your late father: he could charm the birds from the trees if he so chose.’

‘He loved Creek Hall and so do I, but everything depends upon my visit to the solicitor today.’

‘It will be all right. There’s nobody going to take Creek Hall away from you. It’s been in the family for over two hundred years. You tell him that, Master Nick.’

‘I will, and if all else fails I’ll take you with me next time, Mrs Bee. We’ll leave you in peace, but I had to show Miss Marshall the beating heart of Creek Hall.’

‘Get away with you.’ Mrs Bee shook her head, but she was smiling as she sat down and picked up her pen. ‘Good day to you, Miss Marshall. I hope we’ll see more of you at Creek Hall.’

‘It was nice meeting you, Mrs Bee,’ Daisy said over her shoulder as she hurried after Nick, quickening her pace in an attempt to keep up with his long strides. ‘Do you really think you might lose Creek Hall?’