‘Really?’ said Evie, her face lighting up. ‘What—’ But her mother spoke over her.

‘It’s a bit more than that,’ said Carolyn.

‘It really isn’t.’

‘Nell is Clarke Galilee, well, half of it.’

‘Right. I don’t . . .’ Evie hesitated, puzzled.

‘She’s famous.’

‘Hardly.’

‘Successful, then.’

‘I suppose so.’ Nell said. ‘We’ve been very lucky, that’s all it boils down to.’

‘It’s nice of you to come back for David and Jenny’s party, it’s such a long way,’ said Carolyn.

‘We’re on holiday,’ said Maude. ‘We’re staying for ages.’

‘We have a good team at the shop,’ said Nell. ‘And I’m not working on any commissions at the moment, so we thought we’d – spend some time here.’

‘It’s not a shop, it’s a gallery,’ said Maude. ‘Dad doesn’t like it when she calls it a shop.’

‘We sell things, don’t we?’ said Nell.

‘We’re building a bigger gallery,’ said Maude, ‘in a barn. It’s going to be epic.’

Nell couldn’t tell if she was serious. ‘Yes, Maude. Thank you,’ she said.

‘Business must be going well,’ said Carolyn.

‘Yes, I suppose it is.’

There was a brief silence.

‘I have a magazine,’ said Carolyn, ‘they did a feature on you, the Style section of – the Sunday Times, was it?’

‘That was ages ago.’

Months. Probably close to a year.

They fell silent again. Flossie sniffled, circling herself before settling down in front of the oven. Maude shifted in her seat, sipping at her apple juice.

‘You have a lovely house,’ said Nell, eventually, hoping they wouldn’t be offered a tour. ‘Have you been here long?’

‘Thank you, yes. We’ve been here – what – two years now?’

‘Three,’ said Evie.

‘I suppose so. Gosh, the years just start to blur after a while, don’t they?’

‘Is it very old?’ asked Maude.

‘Eighteen hundred or thereabouts. We have the deeds upstairs, well several deeds, actually. It’s absolutely fascinating. The first owner was a sea captain,’ said Carolyn, ‘a master mariner. And it was quite the little community here once upon a time. There was a haberdashers’, an inn, an apothecary – people don’t realise these yards were so busy, so full of life. And now, of course, all the other houses have gone for holiday lets.’

‘Isn’t it odd? Being the only permanent family in the yard?’ asked Nell.

‘A little, but we’re used to it, I suppose.’

‘And there’s Gina Verrill,’ said Evie, ‘she’s been here a lot longer than we have.’

‘Oh yes,’ said Carolyn, ‘Gina. Have you met her yet?’

‘Only in passing.’

‘She and Mum don’t get on,’ Evie said to Maude, reaching for another biscuit.

‘That’s enough for now, don’t you think?’ Carolyn said softly, and Evie sat back, letting her hand fall into her lap.