The main hallway walls showed the red-stone mortar work of the original homestead, and the different seams of colour through the rock made her want to run her hands along the familiar cool stone for comfort. Immediately to her right, a door led to the long room with the day bed and a blood-pressure machine. She saw Zac glance in. On the other side, a doorway led into the lounge area.

Zac said, ‘It’s cool in the centre of the house with the stone walls.’

‘Yes. It helps a lot in the summer. We don’t turn the aircon on usually, but we had it installed when we built all the cottages because it seemed silly not to have it here too when they had it.’

She gestured with her arm. ‘This is yours. All the rooms have a door to the verandah. Nobody is next door to your room, then it’s me, then Granny Mim, then Mum. So you can find us if you need us.’

He tilted his head. ‘Would I need you?’ The why was unspoken but still there.

Why indeed. ‘You might feel unwell,’ Ava reasoned, then paused and met his eyes. ‘Or remember something.’

She saw understanding that she was hoping he would very soon. ‘None of us mind being woken up.’ The last word almost wobbled so she turned away. ‘Anyway, see you in the kitchen when you’re ready. Mum doesn’t like to wait.’ She stopped again and waited for her grandmother to follow her. ‘Come on, Mim.’

‘Good to see you here.’

There was a wealth of something in her grandmother’s voice – Ava hesitated to label it ‘satisfaction’, but that was what it had sounded like. Incurably romantic Mim. Ava just hoped her grandmother was right. Zac would be experiencing the many strong personalities in this house, but that was okay. Ava had warned him.

‘We won’t have any of that nonsense of you staying in a cabin until you’re stronger,’ Mim said. ‘We’ll feed you up and give you a few days under three pairs of nurses’ eyes.’ She looked him up and down as if he were a large schoolboy. ‘We may let you escape after that.’

‘Thanks, Mrs May.’

‘And call me Mim, like everyone else does, Zac.’ Ava saw Zac only just manage to contain his smile.

‘When you’ve washed up –’ Ava bobbed her head towards the end of the hallway – ‘through that white wooden archway is the kitchen. We’ll be waiting for you.’

She sent him a smile and they left him, standing in his allocated room.

‘Oh my, oh my.’ Ava could hear Mim rubbing her hands and muttering as she followed her to the kitchen. She hoped he couldn’t hear Granny Mim extolling his virtues as a big, strong man, but he probably could. Oh well. He would get used to Mim’s forthrightness, she was sure.