“Then perhaps we should do it now.”

They walked round together. He gently struck each stone in turn.

Returning to the lime walk, he said, “What about Lettie? Do you want her to stay on?”

“If she’s willing. Frankly, it would be difficult at first to do without her. But she won’t want to live in the Manor once we’re married, and it wouldn’t suit us. We could offer her Stone Cottage once it’s been cleared and redecorated. Of course, she’d enjoy having a hand in that. And she’d take pleasure in doing something with the garden.”

Chandler-Powell said, “We could offer to give her the cottage. I mean legally, make it over to her. With its reputation it won’t otherwise be easy to sell. That way she’ll have some security for her old age. Who else would want it? Would she? It seems to smell of murder, unhappiness, death.”

Helena said, “Lettie has her defences against those things. I think she’d be content in Stone Cottage, but she wouldn’t want it as a gift. I’m sure she’d prefer to buy.”

“Could she afford to?”

“I think so. She’s always been a saver. And it would be cheap. After all, as you’ve said, with its history Stone Cottage is hardly saleable. Anyway, I could try her. If she moves into the cottage she’ll need an increase in salary.”

“Won’t that be a difficulty?”

Helena smiled. “You’re forgetting that I have money. After all, we’ve agreed that the restaurant will be my investment. Guy may have been an unfaithful bastard but he wasn’t a mean bastard.”

So that problem was settled. Chandler-Powell thought that this would probably be the pattern of his married life. A difficulty acknowledged, a reasonable solution proposed, no particular action necessary on his part.

He said easily, “As we can’t very well do without her, at least at first, that all seems sensible.”

“It’s I who can’t do without her. Haven’t you noticed? She’s my moral compass.”

They walked on. Chandler-Powell could see now that much of his life was going to be planned for him. The thought caused him no disquiet and much satisfaction. He would have to work hard to keep both the London flat and the Manor, but he had always worked hard. Work was his life. He wasn’t entirely sure about the restaurant, but it was time that something was done to reinstate the stable block and the restaurant customers wouldn’t need to enter the Manor. And it was important to keep Dean and Kimberley. Helena knew what she was doing.

She said, “Have you heard anything about Sharon, where she is, what job they’ve found for her?”

“Nothing. She came out of nothingness and went back to nothingness. She isn’t my responsibility, thank God.”

“And Marcus?”