My mascara, in spite of the promises about being completely waterproof written on the expensive packaging, had proved to be anything but and my face was smeared with the telltale signs of an emotional offload. I quickly began to try and scrub it away, making my eyes look even sorer in the process.

‘Given the circumstances,’ said Dolly pointedly, ‘I hardly think you need to worry about a bit of smudged make-up, my dear, do you?’

‘I have news!’ Jonathan shouted along the hall. ‘Get your best gear on, Harriet, because I’m taking you out to dinner!’

He burst into the room, simultaneously popping the cork on a bottle of champagne and grinning from ear to ear. His smile faltered a little as he spotted Dolly perched back at the island and I knew she would have noticed.

‘Dolly,’ he said, quickly collecting himself, ‘how absolutely lovely to see you.’

‘Hello, Jonathan,’ she smiled back.

‘I hope you will be able to join us?’ he asked. ‘As always, you’re more than welcome.’

‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ she said, ‘but it’s very kind of you to ask.’

‘Oh well,’ he said, turning to me, his dark blue eyes registering surprise as he took in my tear-stained face and unkempt hair. ‘What on earth . . .’

‘And as you can see,’ Dolly continued, ‘Hattie here isn’t much in the mood for a celebration at the moment either.’

Jonathan dumped the bottle on the counter and rushed round, wrapping his strong arms tightly around me. I forgot all about my dishevelled state and clung to his warm body, the smell of his aftershave simultaneously comforting me and making me want to cry all over again. It might have been Dolly I turned to first, but it did feel good to have Jonathan home too, not that I had been expecting him.

‘What on earth’s happened?’ he asked, planting a kiss on the top of my head. ‘What’s going on?’

Fresh tears started to flow and Dolly handed me the last of the kitchen roll before Jonathan steered me towards a chair under the window. He took the one next to me, still holding my hand which made mopping up my tears awkward.

‘It’s the hotel,’ I told him, dabbing ineffectively at my nose which needed another good blow. ‘I’ve been made redundant.’

I let out another sob, still unable to really take it in.

‘If I can’t find another job, I’m going to be unemployed by the end of November.’

Jonathan was silent for a second, then let out a cheer and jumped up to retrieve the champagne and a trio of glasses. I frowned up at him as he began to fill the flutes, handing one to Dolly before sitting back down.

‘But that’s just perfect, Hattie!’ He laughed, merrily clinking his glass against mine. ‘Couldn’t be better actually.’