‘I did say almost. And you know how I love my tea.’ His smile faded. ‘Oh, Liz, it’s been a nightmare. I hadn’t realised how much Will is suffering, and just how disturbed Kate has become since they moved.’

They sat down and held hands across the table.

‘I too was shocked when I saw her. I didn’t know what to do or say. It was like she was a different person to that lovely girl we used to spend so much time with.’ Liz bit her bottom lip. ‘I wanted to offer to help, but it was as if I didn’t know her.’ She sighed. ‘You’ll see for yourself when you see her.’

‘Liz?’ Matt said seriously. ‘I want two things now I’m home.’

‘Yes?’

‘I want that bloody cup of tea that you threatened me with.’ He gave her a wicked grin. ‘And I want you.’

She licked her lips lasciviously and stood up. ‘Then I’d better get a move on with the tea, hadn’t I?’

* * *

Will stopped at the gate and looked back over the marsh. He had never wanted to see Whisper Fen so much in all his life. The last few days had been a surreal nightmare. Now, all he wanted was his home and his wife. He wondered what kind of reception he was about to get — the returning warrior, or an indifferent, “Oh, you’re back.”

He got neither. The house was empty.

He called her name but there was no reply. He had forgotten the time difference and wasn’t sure if it was morning or afternoon. A glance at the kitchen clock told him it was only a little after ten. Wherever she was, she couldn’t have read his text, or she’d be here surely?

He dragged his cases up the stairs and put them on the spare bed. More than anything he wanted a shower and a change of clothes.

He made quite sure that Kate was not working in her studio and hadn’t heard him and went to see how far she had got with decorating the lounge.

The furniture was still covered with dust-sheets, but work was well underway. She had finished the ceiling and painted the coving and all the woodwork. The old wallpaper had been stripped away and the walls above the wooden dado rail had been painted in a warm shade of terracotta. One wall was completed, with the bottom part papered in a heavy, and slightly ornate, striped pattern in deep burgundy, dark terracotta, ivory and gold. Will had not particularly liked the design but was forced to say it looked wonderfully rich on the walls of the old room. He smiled to himself. Kate had been right, as always, with her colour choices.