‘Absolutely, babe.’ Will turned to Matt. ‘Thanks for taking the time to do this. As you may have gathered by now, my lovely wife has something of an obsession with Holland House.’

‘And rightly so,’ Matt said. ‘I’m a great believer in learning the history of your local area.’

‘See!’ Kate flung at him. ‘I’m not the only one who wants to learn everything I can about this magical place.’

Matt stayed for another half-hour before taking his leave. ‘I promised to call in at Emilia Swain’s place on the way home. I’m just hoping that nothing else has happened to her.’ He looked at Will. ‘Fancy a ride out there? Then you can walk back.’

‘Sure, then it’ll be time for me to get lunch.’

‘Kate, I’ll ring you as soon as I can get hold of old Amos, then we can go and visit him, okay?’ He smiled at her. ‘And I think you’re making a fantastic job of the room. It’s perfect.’

Kate squeezed his arm affectionately. ‘Thank you, Matt, I want to make Holland House proud again.’

‘Well, you’re doing incredibly well.’ He patted her hand. ‘And Liz and I will continue to look for anything that will help you with your project.’

Outside, Matt exhaled loudly. As soon as the car door closed, he said, ‘Oh my! I’m starting to see why you’re so worried about her. My friend, you have to get her some help. You just have to.’

Will groaned. ‘You don’t know what she suffered last time. It was horrendous. She would never forgive me if I put her through that hell again. I’d lose her, Matt, I know it.’

‘You could lose her anyway. A condition like that left untreated could have terrible consequences.’ Matt started the car and drove slowly down the lane. ‘Look, is there any way you can get into her studio and take some pictures of her latest paintings? I really need to see them. And, Will? With your permission, I’d like to run them past Laura Archer. Besides her work for the force, she also does the occasional session in the community. At the very least, you would get a professional opinion on Kate.’

Will was torn. He didn’t really need a professional to tell him that Kate needed help. ‘I’ll try to get the pictures, Matt. I’m assuming that’s why you are carting her off to meet this Amos character? To give me time to do a bit of breaking and entering?’

‘Neat, wasn’t it?’

‘And very convincing. But just for now, Matt, if I get those pictures, you will keep them just between us — and Liz, of course?’ Matt nodded. They had arrived at Emilia Swain’s cottage.

Will started to get out of the car. He stopped. ‘Jesus! Look at that!’