“I heard that,” said Flynn senior, twisting round in the passenger seat. He ran a hand through his hair and straightened his shirt collar. “I’m going to invite Lily back with us.” Then he thrust a finger in the air, as though experiencing a eureka moment. “I just hope she agrees to come along. It’s so important that she hears what I have to say. In fact, all of you need to hear it.”

He sat up straighter in the passenger seat and fetched his mobile from his trouser pocket. “But first I had better give Mrs Oates a call. Thank goodness she did the weekly shop this morning.”

We listened, rapt, in the confines of Kerry’s car, as Flynn senior spoke to Mrs Oates. “I’m having a few people back for something to eat,” he explained down the phone to her. “No, there’s no need to get stressed. Just rustle up some of your famous Cullen skink, if that’s all right.”

There was a pause. “Oh, not many,” he breezed. “There will be seven of us including you… hopefully eight.”

Mrs Oates must have exclaimed because Flynn senior flinched. “You’ve catered for more than that in your time, dear woman!” The he turned on the charm. “Wonderful! Did I ever tell you how fabulous you are?”

He finished the call with a “Thank you, darling.” A glimmer of apprehension travelled across his face all of a sudden. “Now to go and speak to Lily again.” Flynn senior turned to me. “Would you accompany me please, Leonie? It’s obvious you and Lily have grown close and she thinks very highly of you. You seem to have established a bit of a bond with her.”

Within the car, I was aware of three expectant faces reading mine and the warm scent of vanilla air freshener. “I have grown very fond of her.” I blushed. “She’s certainly a very special lady.”

Flynn senior’s brow arched with optimism. “So, is that a yes?”

“Of course,” I answered. “Come on. Let’s go.”

We arrived at Lily’s cottage with the amber lamplight casting a soupy, cosy warmth that splashed out against the dark trees and over her frosty lawn.

Behind us, Merry Wood stood the complete opposite with its dark empty rooms and prickly angled roof. Flynn senior studied it, his expression raking over its peaks and cornices.

“What are you going to say to her?” I whispered to him, as he dragged his attention away from Merry Wood and back to Lily’s cottage. He began ascending the front steps.

“I’m still working on that.”

Oh God! That didn’t sound good. There was every chance after their first encounter here the other day, that Lily would choose to chew him up and spit him out.