‘Hi! Come on in! Sophie has told us so much about you, it’s great to put a face to the name. And good to meet you too, Matt.’

The big man pumped his hand in welcome. ‘Terrible thing, Will.’ His grip tightened and he turned away for a moment. His wife took Will’s hand. Her voice was soft, and there seemed to be another accent beneath the Canadian vowels.

‘We are hanging on in there for Sophie’s sake but it’s pretty tough. Philip is, well, gutted. I’ve never seen him so hard hit. Guy was his closest buddy — he was our best man, Fran’s godfather . . . And Eva.’ Her voice broke. ‘I don’t know what to say to you, Will.’

‘There is little any of us can say, is there, not at a time like this. But I can’t thank you enough for what you’re doing for Sophie.’

‘It’s the least we can do. The two girls are inseparable anyway. Hey, let’s not hang around here on the doorstep. Come on in.’

Mitch stayed with the car, while Matt and Will, who was carefully carrying the painting of Snapdragon, went inside. They were introduced to Françoise, a chubby and bespectacled version of her dad, followed by the dog, the cat, the rabbit and the guinea pig, and finally given a tour of the house, conducted by a very grown-up Sophie. On their return to the others, gathered in the family room, Will produced Kate’s painting and gave it to Sophie.

She undid the paper slowly, painfully so, very carefully winding the string into a ball, then folding the brown paper, while Fran bounced about impatiently, desperate to see what was inside.

Sophie held the picture up with an excited gasp. ‘Look! Fran! Ann! Philip! Snapdragon is my very favourite. I’m sure I’ve never seen this picture in the books.’

‘Auntie Kate says it is a one-off, especially for you.’

The child rose several inches, bursting with pride. ‘I want to ring Aunt Kate. Will that be alright, Philip?’

The big man laughed and said of course she could, right then if she liked.

‘Oh, later, when I’ve calmed down, I think. Thank you, Uncle Will. It’s wonderful, I shall treasure it.’ She propped the picture up on the table and hugged him again.

The two girls went off to play on Françoise’s computer and Philip went into the kitchen and made his guests some coffee.

‘Is she going to the funeral tomorrow?’ Matt asked.