She’d just wanted him to leave, so she could go upstairs and cry out her frustrations in private. But before she could find her voice, her husband had slammed the door of the cottage, and she’d heard his car revving angrily in the lane outside.

Now, in Michael’s darkened bedroom, she shivered at the memory. She had never been scared of him before that day, but his pent-up fury at being abandoned had felt explosive, almost dangerous in the small Sussex sitting room. As she shook out the patchwork counterpane and pulled it gently across the duvet, tucking his arms inside, she had to remind herself that the man before her was no longer capable of frightening anyone. He seemed like a child, like Leo and Rex when they were ill and fractious as boys, and she almost dropped a kiss on his forehead. But she stopped herself and walked away.

20

‘That was a bit rubbish,’ Jenny said, as Finch pushed open the heavy glass door of the cinema complex and they emerged into the warm May evening. ‘Fun,’ Jenny added, ‘but rubbish.’

Finch laughed as they wandered across the paved courtyard towards the burger joint where they always ate after a movie.

‘So, how’s it going with Romy?’ Jenny asked later, picking a long sweet-potato fry from the metal canister they were sharing and dipping it into a pot of mayonnaise.

Finch heard the same veiled snippiness from the supper with Cathy and Keith. He’d known Jenny might be jealous, from the flirtatious smiles she always gave him, the hand on his arm as she spoke, the way she took him about the village as if she owned him. But he had never been interested in her in that way. Never been interested in any woman since Nell, until Romy. As he took a bite of his burger, he knew he didn’t want to talk to Jenny about her.

‘You haven’t answered my question,’ Jenny was saying.

‘It’s going well.’

Jenny put her head on one side. ‘Hmm …’

Finch sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to be able to fob her off. ‘There’s been a bit of a glitch.’

Jenny waited for him to go on.

‘Her ex had a stroke. Romy’s gone back to look after him, just till the carer’s settled in.’

‘God, how awful. Poor man … poor Romy.’ She thought for a moment then frowned. ‘But why is she looking after him? I thought they were divorced.’

‘Separated, not divorced.’ He was reluctant to continue. ‘It’s complicated. There’s nobody around, except one of her sons. I think she wanted to help him out … and I’m sure she feels sorry for Michael. Who wouldn’t?’

Jenny gave a derisive snort. ‘Ha! Depends on your ex. If Euan had a stroke I’d think it served him bloody well right. I wouldn’t go within a hundred miles of him, except to gloat.’