But it was at moments like this when she had doubts and thought her mother may have been right. Living on the edge of Coleshaw Woods was very different to living on the edge of a town or city. Here there were noises at night she wasn’t accustomed to, and then deafening silence – the like of which you never got in the town. The cottage creaked with its own sounds and sometimes the wind whistled through the woods as though the trees were talking, whispering between themselves.

But she’d made the decision, signed the agreement, and wouldn’t let the owner down. By daylight the woods and countryside were very different – appealing. The air smelt fresher than in the town and the country walks she went on with Tinder were invigorating. She had the time alone she needed to take stock and consider her future, wherever that might be.

It was when darkness fell that the atmosphere dramatically changed and she would have welcomed some company. But who was going to journey out here in winter? Her parents and friends worked, and it would mean them staying the weekend as it was too far for a day trip. She appreciated they had their own lives and commitments, and she didn’t want to sound needy. It was a pity the let had been for the winter months, she thought, with the nights closing in earlier and earlier. Now the end of October, it was dark by five o’clock, even earlier if it had been overcast. A summer let would have been far more attractive.

Jan glanced at her phone. It was just gone eight o’clock, the same time it had happened the previous nights. But whatever was outside must have gone, for Tinder had lost interest. As she stroked him his eyes gradually closed and his head slowly relaxed, until it was resting on her leg again. She liked Tinder very much and she’d decided that when she left the cottage in five months’ time and found a place of her own to live, she would have a small dog or cat. Or was that a cliché – a singleton and her pet in a flat?

Only Tinder’s ears remained alert, twitching every so often as if part of him was listening while the rest of his body slept. Jan had noticed this before – that when he was sleeping his ears seemed to stay awake. Was he actually listening, she wondered, or was it instinct left over from evolution? When dogs had been wolves, before a line had become domesticated. At a time when his ancestors had been wild and feral, catching prey, but also liable to be preyed upon by bigger predators. They’d had to remain alert even when sleeping if they weren’t to be eaten.

‘Tinder,’ she said softly, caressing the fur on his neck.