‘Would you look at the time!’ said Meredith, putting down her glass and blinking a little woozily. ‘Where’s the night gone? It’s half past eleven and it’s pitch black out there. How will we find our way home?’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Conor. ‘I’ll guide you up the path. The moon’s out so you’ll be able to see where you’re going.’

There was some low-level grumbling from Jason about leaving so early but Fliss gave him short shrift for being a selfish bugger. After the busy week they’d had, they were all pretty tired and Hannah, for one, had had more than enough to drink.

Stepping outside from the warm, fuggy, noisy pub into the cool night air, the silence was quite a contrast. It didn’t quite sober Hannah up, but it certainly brought her to her senses.

‘Look at the stars,’ she said.

‘Bloody ’ell,’ said Jason. ‘Is that for real?’

‘No light pollution. Isn’t it glorious? It’s like this in the place I’ve just moved to. I’m thinking about offering stargazing breaks,’ said Izzy.

‘Where the ’ell do you live? The middle of nowhere?’ asked Jason as he, Hannah, and Izzy walked three abreast following the others. Alan had made a beeline for Meredith and, no surprise, Fliss had moved in on Conor. Hannah could see her tossing her long blonde hair with coquettish flips and laughing obligingly and loudly in the night.

‘I live in the Highlands, in Scotland. In a castle.’

‘Seriously. I live in a two-up, two-down council house with my mum and sisters in Bethnal Green.’

‘Don’t be too impressed. The whole place is falling down and I’ve got to save it somehow. It was left to me by my mad great-uncle, but my mum is desperate to stay. She always thought it would come to her. And that’s a whole other story. The whole place is one ginormous money pit.’ She let out a loud sigh. ‘I really don’t want to think about it right now.’

Poor Izzy sounded quite depressed.

‘I bet she lives in a palace or something, that Fliss. Right stuck-up tart she is.’

While Fliss’s sharp tongue hadn’t endeared her to Hannah, she didn’t like the idea of bitching about the other girl. None of them knew each other that well.

‘Give her a chance, Jason. We’re all different. And we’re stuck with each other for the next few weeks.’

‘S’pose you’re right. Mind you, she’s a laugh down the pub. We’re going to play pool next time. Probably thrash me again. Bet she’s got her own billiard room or something, like in Cluedo.’