‘He emailed Deirdre from Ireland. Giving her the exact one month’s notice they’d legally agreed to after his initial three-year contract had expired. He’s been offered a job in Spain. Managing a boutique hotel in San Sebastián.’

As Maxie began firing questions at Olivia, Eliza stayed silent. Lawrence hadn’t said anything about this to her. He’d had no reason to, of course.

‘But what will you do without him?’ Maxie asked. ‘And what does that mean for the Montgomery? Who takes over as general manager, Alex or Rory?’

‘I had the same questions,’ Olivia said. ‘Deirdre asked Alex and Rory if either of them felt ready to take over. She asked them to be honest. They made it clear that neither of them want the job. Not now. Not ever. They’ve stayed for the past three years only because they promised their father they would. They can’t wait to leave.’

‘Good heavens,’ Maxie said.

Olivia explained that she’d expected Deirdre to say she would now advertise for a new general manager. Instead, she surprised them again. She’d prefaced her announcement by confirming she was following Edgar’s explicit instructions, as outlined when he appointed her as his power of attorney.

‘It was like being in a courtroom. All delivered in crisp legal language. Basically saying that in the event of neither Montgomery son wishing to take up the role as general manager, a vote was to be called between the brothers and me as to the future of the hotel. The question was simple. Did we want to keep it running, or did we want to sell it?’

Maxie and Eliza stayed silent, wide-eyed, as Olivia continued.

Deirdre had spoken over their shocked questions, she told them. She explained that in the past year there had been three approaches from different multinational hotel chains, enquiring if the Montgomery was for sale. Each time, she had advised that it wasn’t, at this point in time. If their vote tonight was a unanimous yes, she would go back to all three potential buyers and ask for their offers in writing.

‘And?’ Maxie asked.

‘It was a unanimous yes,’ Olivia said.

Maxie and Eliza were taken aback. Olivia seemed unable to stop smiling.

‘It’s what Edgar wanted. It’s what we all want. It’s the best thing for all of us. We have Lawrence to thank. If he hadn’t resigned, we might have kept going as we were, none of us wanting to be here.’