Will assured her that it was no one’s fault. He explained that Kate had become worse of late and the smallest thing made her ill. He also explained that telephone calls could be difficult if she was around, so to forgive him if there were times when he couldn’t talk freely. She said she understood, wished him well, and hung up.

The hotel said that they hadn’t yet arrived but confirmed their booking reservation. Will said he would ring back. His back and shoulders screamed with pain from all the tension, and his elbow throbbed mercilessly. In the past, when his injuries had played him up, Kate would massage his aching joints with aromatherapy oils. Now he went in search of paracetamol.

‘Headache?’ Matt asked.

‘Oh, Matt. Headache. Backache. Mainly elbow ache. You name it, it aches.’

‘Hardly surprising, my boy,’ said Sam kindly. ‘Have you managed to track Fauve down yet?’

‘No, but at least I have the number of his hotel. I’ll try again in half an hour.’ He swallowed the paracetamol. ‘Look, if you guys want to get home, I’m over my crisis. Kate will probably sleep the clock round, so if you need to go, it’s not a problem. You’ve both got me back on an even keel again. I’m so grateful, honestly.’

Sam glanced at Matt. ‘I don’t know about you, but I have all the time in the world. I’ll stay until you’ve talked to Captain Fauve.’

Matt agreed. ‘No rush. Let’s make sure you have this sorted.’

* * *

Finally, Will found himself talking to Philip. ‘I thought there was something wrong, Will. You were strung out like a high wire. Look, I’m really sorry about all this. I feel I’m to blame. I should have found a way to call you first, but I had no idea Kate was that bad.’

‘It’s not your fault,’ said Will quickly, ‘and please don’t let Sophie feel like that either. Can you assure her that her aunt is very poorly, and that it has nothing to do with her?’

He was desperate not to let his niece feel that he’d rejected her, on top of losing her parents.

Philip promised he would tell her as much as he could. ‘Do you think we will see you at all?’

‘I really don’t know, Philip, her moods fluctuate so suddenly. I would hate to break another promise to Sophie.’

‘Say, tell you what, we’ll stay on here another night, then come up to the fens a day later than planned, on the Sunday night. That way, we’ll be around for all of Monday. If you can get to see us it would be great, but if not, no sweat. The motel has a pool and Sophie swims like a fish, so we can chill out there before our journey home.’

‘What time do you leave?’