Suddenly there was a skittering of feet as someone came bursting into the room framed by a halo of flying red hair. ‘So sorry I’m late,’ she said in a Scottish accent. ‘Sheep on the road. I had to stop and help and when I said I was due here, the farmer said to say hello.’

Adrienne’s mouth quirked with wry amusement. ‘And here I was talking about punctuality. I’m betting that was Pádraig O’Brien – he’s a menace that man. Those sheep are always on the road but he’s enough charm to feed the birds from his hands. You must be Isabel McBride.’

‘Oh, please call me Izzy. My mother’s the only person that calls me Isabel and she’s quite dotty.’

‘Welcome to Killorgally, Izzy. I’ll let the others introduce themselves as we do the tour. Leave your case here. Would you like some cake and a cup of tea?’

‘No, it’s fine. I’ve held you up already,’ said Izzy, shooting a quick look of longing at the table.

‘Here, love.’ Meredith was already cutting a slab of cake. ‘And have a quick sip of tea to whet your whistle. We don’t mind waiting a minute or two, do we?’

Poor Izzy looked mortified. ‘I’ll bring my cake with me and just have a quick slurp.’

‘No, no,’ said Adrienne. ‘I just didn’t want to keep everyone waiting, but if they don’t mind it’s fine. We’re still waiting on one more and, besides, cake should never be rushed.’ She sank gracefully into one of the chairs. ‘I was just explaining some of the rules.’ As Izzy munched her cake, Adrienne reiterated her earlier words.

‘One thing I forgot to say. No mobile phones in the kitchen or at the table.’

‘What?’ Fliss’s eyes bulged. ‘You don’t mean that?’

‘Oh but I do. How can you concentrate when your mind is half a world away, floating off all over the internet? Unless someone is sending you life-saving instructions to enable you to perform emergency brain surgery, I can’t think of a single reason as to why you would need your phone on during a meal or while cooking. All agreed?’ She looked around with a calm, no-nonsense, implacable smile. Hannah decided that Adrienne was as terrifying as she was charming. Everything would be fine as long as you did things her way.