He walked into the hall, hearing the loud music coming down the stairs. Evelyn laughed.

‘That’s Lizzy. You’re forgiven for thinking she might be a bit deaf!’

They went through to the kitchen and Patrick undid his coat and sat at the breakfast bar.

‘I’m just making a nice lamb casserole for dinner.’

‘It smells delicious.’

She poured out two coffees.

‘I like to cook. It relaxes me.’

He took the coffee from her and sipped it.

Sitting opposite him, Evelyn lit herself a cigarette and blew out the smoke loudly.

‘So what can I do for you, or is this a social call?’

Patrick smiled slightly. She was a game old bird.

‘It’s a bit of both actually. It’s about your trip to Australia.’

‘What about it?’

‘Well, the truth is, I don’t think that Kate can really afford it, can she?’

Evelyn took another drag on her cigarette. She knew that Kate couldn’t afford it really, that she was trying to get a bank loan to pay for it. But she had told Lizzy she was going and there was no way that she would let her down, even if it meant selling the car and every bit of jewellery she possessed.

Patrick could gauge what Evelyn was thinking. He sighed. Taking an envelope from his pocket he placed it on the table.

‘What’s this?’

‘That, Mrs O’Dowd, is two first-class tickets to Sydney, with a four-day stop over in Singapore. It’s a long old flight to Oz, you know, and you’ll be glad of the break, believe me. I want you to take these tickets and tell Kate that you had some money left over from . . . well, whatever you like. Let her think you paid for them.’

Evelyn fingered the thick brown envelope and looked into Patrick’s eyes.

‘Something’s happened between the two of you, hasn’t it?’

He nodded. It was pointless lying. He told her about Dan. Evelyn did not bat an eyelid all the time he spoke.

‘That would go against the grain with Kate. It goes against the grain with me to be honest. But I’m a bit more of a realist than my daughter. I know that desperate times mean desperate measures. I’ll give you a bit of advice where Kate is concerned, shall I? Always remember that her job is the most important thing in her life. She fought hard to get to where she is and I think that the fact she allowed herself to get involved with you, knowing your reputation, speaks volumes. She’s had only one man in her life, Danny Burrows. Now she has you. Or maybe I should say had you? I don’t know. Only Kate knows that.