Meredith gave Hannah a big hug at the door. ‘Thank you for this and for including me. It was a lovely evening.’ With a cheeky grin, she added, ‘I hope we can do it again, if it’s not too forward. I’m inviting myself but you’ve got that beautiful garden.’

‘You’re welcome anytime,’ said Hannah, feeling an unexpected glow of warmth towards both Meredith and Izzy. ‘It’s been fun.’

With a happy smile on her face, she closed the door behind them and sat down on the sofa to finish her glass of Prosecco. She’d enjoyed their company; they hadn’t stopped talking and laughing all evening and they’d managed to get through two bottles of Prosecco. It was one of the best nights she’d had for a while – well, Dublin excepted, and that was best forgotten. With a sigh, she realised she’d become a little too used to and resigned to the loneliness of living on her own. When had it become the norm? She kept herself busy, going walking and kayaking, but now she realised that they were coping mechanisms. Since her sister had moved to Switzerland, her social life had dwindled to nothing. Had coming here been a subconscious hankering for change?

She thought about it for a while as she sipped her wine. An unfamiliar noise made her glance up out of the window. It was dark out there now. A little prickle of unease ran down her spine. She was being daft – see, she was lonely now the others had gone. Time for bed. She’d read for a while on her Kindle. Rising to her feet, she gathered up the bowls and glasses and carried them through to the kitchen. Washing up quickly, she left everything to drain and then went back into the sitting room to turn out the lamps and collect the empty bottles.

As she turned out the last lamp, two bottles in hand, she glanced up.

A face stared at her through the window. For a brief moment she thought it must be Meredith or Izzy coming back. But the face moved back out of sight. Startled, the bottles slipped out her hand with a crash and she looked down as they clattered and rolled across the stone floor, the loud noise in tandem with her hammering heart.

Frozen for a moment, she stood in the dark, realising that whoever it was couldn’t see her now, and then hurriedly drew the curtains, bolted the door, and switched off all the downstairs lights.

Chapter Twelve