‘You’re lovely. I can’t remember the last time anyone asked me whether I was okay. On a positive note, Megan’s still there and yes, we are both doing okay. Apparently, at first she was a little feisty, as she doesn’t like rules and regulations, but her caseworker has said that is normal and she’ll probably butt heads for a few more days until she realises she’s not getting anywhere. She will have a shock being cut off from the outside world, but they confirmed that this morning she took part in a yoga class, which is great news. She’s in the four-week programme, so I’m just hoping she has the will-power to see it through.’

‘She wants this and she’s there, so that’s the first step. Take each day as it comes and remember, everyone is here for you both.’

‘Thank you, I really do appreciate that.’ Roman held her gaze for a moment before standing up and passing her a pasty in a white paper bag. ‘Tell me, how has Dolores reacted to the line-up so far? I was thinking about it driving over here. Is she happy?’

Ella blew out a breath as she stood up and retrieved two plates from the kitchen cupboard. ‘We’ve set the cat amongst the pigeons.’

‘Why? What have we done?’

‘Charlie Love… is the one that got away,’ replied Ella. ‘Dolores Henderson’s one true love, but they couldn’t be together.’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Absolutely serious. I’m not really sure of any of the details, but when I first arrived in Heartcross a letter was delivered here for Dolores by mistake. I gave it to her, but she literally hid it away from me. Anyway, it turns out that even though Dolores and Charlie couldn’t be together, they’ve written to each other every six months for over sixty years.’

Roman blew out a breath. ‘Sixty years! You’re kidding me, right?’

‘Dolores was actually tearful when I told her. She thought she would never see Charlie again, and now we are going to make that happen.’

‘She’s held a torch for Charlie for all this time?’

‘And that’s the reason why she never married anyone else. She never fell out of love. No one ever came close.’

‘It sounds tragic, and now, by accident, after all this time, they are going to be in the same room?’

‘Thanks to our phone call.’

‘Is this a good thing?’ Roman looked concerned. ‘We don’t want to throw Dolores into an emotional meltdown on the night. She needs to be on top form, especially if it’s being filmed.’