Evelyn waved a hand at her. ‘You sit yourself down, young lady, and have a glass of the excellent wine Dan brought. I’ve nearly finished me own dinner anyway.’

Kate sat beside Dan and he smiled at her.

‘Merry Christmas, Kate.’

His voice was low and while Evelyn was getting the dinner from the oven he brushed her lips with his. Lizzy giggled. Kate was stunned. She expected a lot from Dan, none of it good, but that was the last thing she had anticipated. And the worse part of all was she had felt a shiver inside her as he had done it. She forced a smile on her face and grinned at her daughter.

‘Merry Christmas, love.’

‘Merry Christmas, Mum. How was it today?’ Her face was concerned.

‘Oh, not too bad, we’re getting there.’ She deliberately kept her voice light. Dan had unnerved her and she had a sneaking suspicion he had guessed the fact. He was looking at her now, a smile playing around his lips.

Evelyn put a large dinner in front of her and Kate felt her appetite return.

‘Oh, Mum, that looks great. I’m starving.’

‘Dad was just telling us about when he was in Egypt.’

Kate took a mouthful of turkey and nodded.

Evelyn sat back at the table and winked at her daughter. Kate noticed the flushed cheeks and guessed she had been on the whiskey, or ‘Holy Water’ as her mother referred to it. Dan poured Kate a glass of wine and she sipped it.

‘Tell Mum about the Valley of the Kings, Dad.’

‘Your mother’s not interested in all that.’

‘Oh, but I am, Dan. You carry on with your story.’

Dan was where he wanted to be. He had an attentive audience and he loved it. He would try and impress Kate with his worldliness. She might deal with rapists and murderers and the lowest of the low, but he was an adventurer, a traveller, and that beat policing hands down!

‘Well, we got to Luxor. It was something else, you know, the Nile. I mean, it was just a thrill to be there. To be walking along the banks. Well, you get a boat and cross over to the Valley of the Kings . . .’

‘And Queens.’ Kate spoke through a mouthful of food.

‘Well, yes, and the Valley of the Queens. We went into Tutankhamen’s burial chamber. You would have loved it, Lizzy. The paintings on the ceilings . . .’

Kate let Dan go on. She felt like asking him why he hadn’t taken her with him; Lizzy would have loved it and Anthea’s boys had gone, she knew that for a fact. While Dan was describing the delights of Egypt, Kate drank her wine and carried on eating. She had heard it all before. Oh, not Egypt, but other places - all described in detail in the same sing-song voice. Kate closed her eyes and berated herself.