He lay on the bed and thought about little Sophie. He didn’t usually have much to say to children. They made him feel rather shy. Since the death of his own baby, Emma, he had had little to do with any youngsters, so it had come as a huge surprise to find that he had really warmed to Sophie. He found himself wishing things were different at home.

Home. He picked up the phone and dialled again. This time Kate answered almost immediately. She said she had no signal on her mobile, and then she listened while he told her about the funeral and said she would be glad when the trip was over. She sounded sad. She said almost nothing about her decorating and there were no more little gems from the history of Whisper Fen. Will put this down to the solemnity of the occasion.

She asked him when he would be flying home, but Will couldn’t say. ‘I’ll text you, but in case the signal’s down again, put the answerphone on, babe, then if I find out anything and it’s night time over there, I can leave you my flight schedule.’

She agreed, which saddened him. Once, she would have told him that she didn’t care what time of the day or night it was but only wanted to hear his voice.

‘Are you okay, Kate? You sound a bit down.’

‘I’m fine. I expect it’s all this talk about funerals. Not the most cheerful subject, is it?’

Well, I’m so sorry my sister died, Will wanted to say but swallowed his sarcasm along with the bourbon. ‘I’d better let you go. Will you ring me before you turn in for the night?’

There was a pause. ‘Well, yes, of course, but I may be working tonight, so if I get carried away you will have to forgive me. You know how I lose track of time if things are going well.’

‘Please try, sweetheart. It’s been one hell of a day and I could do with a transatlantic hug.’

‘I’ll try, I promise. I love you, my Bear, and I’m glad today is over.’

‘Me too.’

Will shook his head. Well, he might as well make the most of his time away from the marsh. They were going to Philip and Annette’s this evening for supper, the last time he would see Sophie, possibly for years.

Once again, he wondered what it would have been like if the Fauves hadn’t offered to adopt Sophie. Could he have ever taken her home to live with him and Kate? Could he have made it work? She might have made a difference to their lives, given Kate a new direction. Then he saw again that picture, the malevolent goblin with the child under its arm.

* * *