‘Stop being so miserable, the lot of you,’ said Owen, and with that headed off towards the corner of the terrace to join in with the dancing.

‘It’s bloody embarrassing,’ said Natalie. ‘Can’t you do something? Say something to him about his drinking? It’s getting out of control again. Even your mum has noticed it recently.’

‘How bad is it?’ asked Dominic.

‘Every night. I’m sure he’s back to drinking during the day too,’ said Natalie. ‘I called into the stables the other day and there was an empty bottle of whisky in the bin. I asked him about it and he said he’d caught one of the staff drinking and had tipped it away.’

‘Really? He never said anything to me about someone drinking at work.’

‘I think he was lying.’ Natalie’s gaze dropped to the ground and Elizabeth was sure she wiped away a tear. ‘It’s like he can’t go through a day without having some sort of drink. It’s the first thing he does when he comes in after work. It’s not unusual for him to drink a whole bottle of wine before going to bed. I really thought all that was in the past, but he’s slipped right back into it.’

Dominic rubbed Natalie’s arm. ‘Hey, come on. Don’t go getting all upset tonight. Not here,’ he said. ‘I’ll tell you what. I promise I’ll speak to him properly tomorrow. There’s no point saying anything tonight. Let him get pissed and when he’s had enough, I’ll get Harry to help me put him to bed. How does that sound?’

Natalie looked up gratefully at her brother-in-law. ‘Thank you, Dominic. I’d really appreciate that. I’m going to go back to our place now and let Eileen go home. She was kind enough to babysit for us tonight but I know she doesn’t like being out too late. I’ll order her a taxi.’

‘OK. Goodnight, Natalie.’ Dominic gave her a peck on the cheek.

Elizabeth hugged Natalie. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I’m sure it will all be OK tomorrow.’

‘Thank you,’ said Natalie again, before hurrying off in the direction of their lodge.

‘You’re quite a softy at heart, aren’t you?’ said Elizabeth, treating herself to another look into his eyes. ‘All that tough, macho exterior is just a front.’

‘There’s more to me than meets the eye,’ said Dominic with a wink.

‘Is that right?’ Elizabeth moved a bit closer and swayed a little. ‘I see I’ve got a lot more to discover about you Sinclair brothers than I first thought.’