In spite of the urgency of what was going on in the kitchen, Ellen smirked and cocked one eyebrow meaningfully. She couldn’t see much, but she could hear the duvet rustling, and the slight murmur of the mattress as someone rolled over. Alexa flashed a glance back into the room and mouthed, ‘I’ll tell you later.’ She looked pleased. Ellen was about to say something, but Alexa pre-empted her. ‘What’s happened?’ she asked again.

Ellen rearranged her face, conscious that, by the grave injustices of sod’s law, Elias was probably on his way over for an unauthorized house inspection. She exhaled heavily.

‘Sorry, I screamed because I saw a dead mouse – but that’s not the major problem –’ Ellen placed her fingers on her aching temples. ‘The major problem is that the sink in the kitchen has gone mental, and there’s water everywhere – and I don’t know how to switch it off –’ She stared at Alexa, helplessly.

Alexa’s eyes widened. ‘Wait, what?’

‘I don’t know what’s happened – it wasn’t like that when I got in last night – whenever the fuck that was.’ A shamefaced grimace. ‘Anyway, I was looking for the thing to turn off the water at the mains, and I thought it might be near the fuse box?’

‘The stopcock,’ Alexa said, authoritatively.

Ellen blinked at this unfamiliar word.

‘It’s usually under the sink,’ Alexa added, with confidence.

‘Oh, OK.’ She felt slightly reassured. ‘Are you sure? I don’t know. I thought it might be in the attic.’ There was an undignified whine in her voice.

‘I doubt it,’ Alexa said, briskly. Ellen frowned at this slight but before she could say anything, Alexa had shifted into action mode. ‘OK, I’m coming – let me just grab a jumper …’ Alexa disappeared, and Ellen resisted the urge to peer into her room. Seconds later, she reappeared, pulling her arms through a worn grey zip-up hoodie. ‘OK,’ she said, calmly. ‘Why don’t I go look at the kitchen, and you go get Jack from the attic so we can start mopping all the water up?’

Ellen sighed with relief. She had known Alexa would take over. ‘Thanks,’ she said, rubbing her eye with the base of her palm. ‘I’m so hungover,’ she added, quietly.

Alexa gave her a complicit look.

Ellen managed another smirk. ‘Right, I’ll go back upstairs. Jack’s rootling around up there and probably shouldn’t be left unattended.’

‘OK. I’ll see you in a minute.’

Her panic quelled, Ellen trotted back up the stairs to the attic, while Alexa descended to the kitchen. Jack was in the middle of the room, leaning over the rubble of an upended Perspex box that contained DVDs and the SEGA. He appeared to be enthralled. Ellen joined him, observing that the collection included the complete boxset of Sex and the City. Elias was evidently a man of diverse interests.

‘Hi, Jack –’ Ellen started.