He flinched, mouthing, ‘Oh fuck,’ and then turned round. ‘All right there, Adrienne.’ He nodded with his usual insouciance. Hannah pressed her lips together. It wouldn’t have been appropriate to laugh, no matter how much she wanted to. The two of them reminded her of a pair of cats facing off.

‘And that’ll be another euro in the jar,’ she added sweetly before turning to smile at everyone else. ‘All set? I’ll see you in the kitchen in five minutes.’ With that she glided out of the room, leaving Jason shaking his head.

‘How does she do that?’

‘She just knows what an idiot you are,’ sniped Fliss.

‘Better than being a toffee-nosed—’

‘Jason,’ Meredith rose and took his arm, leading him away to the cookery school. ‘How was the…?’

‘Oops,’ said Izzy as Meredith’s voice died away through the doorway.

‘Huh, he’s such a berk,’ said Fliss. ‘I’ve no idea what he’s doing here.’

‘He’s pretty good,’ said Izzy.

‘You think? He can use a knife, but that doesn’t make you a chef. Probably got that with his ASBO. You have to have a certain aesthetic when you’re cooking.’

‘And what’s that when it’s at home?’ asked Izzy.

‘An appreciation of the art of cooking. It’s not just food—’

‘It’s Marks and Spencer’s food,’ chipped in Hannah, recalling the store’s famous advertising campaign, and received a frosty glare for her trouble. Fliss tossed her hair over her shoulder and muttered, ‘Philistines, the lot of you,’ as she marched out of the kitchen.

‘And then there were three,’ said Izzy with a quick grin.

‘Three who’ll be in the doghouse, if we don’t shake a leg,’ said Alan. ‘Come on, lasses. Let’s get this party started.’

They trooped into the kitchen and donned their aprons. Hannah glanced around quickly. There was Conor but Adrienne was whispering in his ear, and, with a look of surprise he stepped back from her. She gave him a gentle push on his shoulder and, shaking his head, he left the room, already putting his phone up to his ear with a disgruntled frown.

The six of them crowded around Adrienne’s bench where she began whipping up a hollandaise sauce, explaining what she was doing and why. Meredith chipped in with knowledgeable questions while Alan exclaimed over the explanations that Adrienne gave. He loved his science and always wanted to know how the mechanics of things worked. Fliss seemed happy to listen and learn, while Jason barely paid attention, unlike her and Izzy who hung on every word, terrified they were going to miss something.