Once we were upstairs, though, things looked a bit better. The stairs went up to a small landing with doors going off it. The living room was large and light, with a bird’s-eye view of the street. It was furnished with a mishmash of furniture, as though everyone who’d lived there over the years had left one item behind; nothing matched in style, era, or color. There was a large wooden table and a couple of chairs in the window overlooking the street. Outside, at the end of the street, schoolchildren waited at the bus stop and a couple of old ladies stood chatting outside the greengrocer’s shop, their shopping bags by their sides. Below the window was the awning covering the florist’s shop below. I pulled up the sash window. The air was warm and a light breeze floated in from the river, carrying with it the scent of flowers from the display below.

I turned to Gill. “This is better than the others, isn’t it?”

She said, “Yeah, it is,” but her eyes were fixed on her phone and I could tell her mind was on something else. My gaze flitted over the sofa that had seen better days and the marks on the paintwork. I could sort that out. I went through to the bedroom; it overlooked the narrower side road and was big enough for all the bags and boxes I had. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw the bed was new and still in its plastic cover.

“Is it free to move into immediately?”

“You can move in on Thursday, if you like. I’ll get back to the office now and contact the landlady. I’ll draw up a contract and e-mail it to you later today. If your payment clears tomorrow, then you can move in the next day.”

“I’ll take it,” I said.

CHAPTER 13

Ruby

Early on Thursday morning I went down to the hotel reception with my bags to settle the bill. I wanted to pick up the keys to my flat as soon as the agency opened.

I handed over my credit card.

“That’s okay, Mrs. Sheridan.” When the receptionist called me by that name, it was as though she was rubbing salt into my wounds. “Mr. Sheridan has paid for the room.”

My heart thumped. “Is he here?”

She looked surprised. “No. The payment was made in advance. Haven’t you seen him?”

I flushed and muttered something about him being delayed. “I’ll pay for room service separately.” I handed over my card. The last thing I needed was for Harry to receive the bill for all the alcohol and snacks I’d had. I pictured him casting an eye over the list, judging me.

I thought back to the day when Harry had booked the room online for a week. “Are you sure about this, Ruby? Dead certain?”