He looks at me for what feels like the first time since they arrived an hour ago. His eyes search mine. “Not really.”

“Do you want to talk? Outside? Chloe will be okay in here with the kittens. We can keep an eye on her through the window.”

He nods. “We’re just popping out into the corridor for a bit, Chlo. You okay in here?”

She nods mutely.

“Chloe.” He eases himself up from the sofa and crosses the room then crouches beside his daughter and puts a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry I snapped at you just now. That wasn’t fair. We’ll talk some more about getting a kitten when we get home later, okay? It’s not a decision we should rush into, no matter how cute these little fellas are.”

“Okay, Daddy.” Chloe doesn’t unfurl but she doesn’t lean away when he pulls back her curtain of hair and kisses her on the cheek.

“We’ll just be in the corridor.” Will points towards the door.

“I’m sorry,” he apologises, the second the door clicks shut behind us. “Sara’s passive-aggressiveness used to drive me nuts, and you deserve more than that, Jane – Emma,” he corrects himself quickly.

I cross my arms over my chest and brace myself for the “It’s not me, it’s you” speech I know is coming. He’s too decent a man to have walked away when I first told him about who I really was, especially after what happened at Mrs Wilkinson’s house, but he’s had a couple of days to reflect, now. His daughter has taken a shine to me, and he’s worried. Who wouldn’t be?

“So the thing is” – he runs a hand through his hair and clears his throat – “I found myself in a bit of an awkward situation in the pub last night. We were talking about Graham’s impending wedding to Claire, and then someone asked me if I was going to marry you.” He waves away my sharp intake of breath. “Obviously, I told them that we’re very early on in our relationship, but the question opened the floodgates and suddenly everyone was quizzing me about you. Where are you from? What do you do? When did you move here? Where did you live before? Etcetera, etcetera. And I found myself …” He gazes through the window at Chloe, who’s teasing the kittens with a small grey catnip mouse. “… I found myself repeating everything you’d told me. Not what you told me the other night, but what you’d told me before, and …” He looks back at me. “… I felt like a liar. I felt like I was complicit in something I don’t fully understand. And that made me feel uncomfortable, Jane. Really, bloody uncomfortable. I’m the Head of Biology and I was telling bare-faced lies to my staff, people who look up to me.”