Could she do it? Should she? There was more warm weather coming, so the forecast said, and there wasn’t really any rush for her to leave. She could stay through to the end of summer, couldn’t she?

By that evening the wind was howling around the Fishergirl’s Luck, rain throwing itself against the walls of the cottage in a blind fury. It might have been past winter further south, but Anna was glad of the stock of wood and kindling she had bought.

‘I actually kind of like it,’ she told Cathy, as she lay curled up on the old sofa beneath a blanket, phone in one hand and a mug of tea in the other. ‘It feels as if the whole world could be crumbling outside and this place would still be standing.’

‘Rather you than me,’ said Cathy. ‘I can hear that wind from here. It sounds as if all the hounds of hell are circling your front door.’

‘Maybe they are, but they can’t get in. An incomer’s home is her castle. I’ve locked the gates and barricaded the door.’

‘Nutter,’ Cathy said affectionately. ‘Well, at least you sound more sure of yourself.’

‘I think it’s the cooking,’ said Anna. ‘I’ve made something every day since Pat and Frank came over for lunch. I’ve always been most at home in a kitchen and it feels good to be in command of my own. I’ve never actually had that before.’

‘Your lunch party did sound idyllic,’ Cathy said, with a wistful sigh. ‘Fresh food – your food – good wine, the ocean – what could be more perfect? I wish I’d been there. I can easily imagine how lucky those people felt to stumble across you.’

‘It’s given me an idea, actually,’ Anna admitted.

‘You’re thinking of taking over the Crovie Inn after all?’

‘No. But do you remember that “supper club” thing that went on in London a few years back? Pop-up dining rooms in people’s houses? I knew a few chefs who did it because they couldn’t afford their own premises and they wanted to start building a reputation around their food.’

‘Yeah, Steve and I went to a couple, they were great. You want to do that at the Fishergirl’s Luck?’

‘I wouldn’t do evenings, and it would be weather dependent, but I thought it might work for lunches a couple of days a week. I can only fit eight people around the bench, and I’d probably limit it to six so there’s plenty of room and I’m not stretching myself. But I think it could work.’

‘Do you think you’d get enough custom?’