I didn’t dare ask what he intended to do with the information I had supplied him with and, as the door shut behind him, I turned my attention back to the package. I could hardly believe my eyes and took a moment to let my galloping heart settle before looking at it again. My eyes weren’t deceiving me, the label was definitely written in my father’s hand.

*

My initial reaction to the missive had been to throw it in the wood burner – had it been lit – but then I was seized with a desire to open it and find out my fate. Was it a heartfelt plea for my return to the fold, or a court summons demanding I appeared and explained the reasons behind my desertion from the family firm?

Befuddled and dazed, I didn’t know what to do with it so, unopened, I set it aside. I had no idea how my father had tracked me down, but I knew I couldn’t stay in Wynmouth now. I felt truly sorry to be leaving so many loose ends in my wake, but the shocking sight of Dad’s handwriting was enough to tell me that I still wasn’t ready to face up to everything and therefore I had to go. If he’d put a package in the post, he could just as easily turn up on the doorstep and that was the last thing I wanted.

‘Could I have a quiet word, in private please?’ I asked Sam in the pub later that evening.

‘Come through,’ he said, lifting the bar hatch so I could follow him into the back.

‘Thanks,’ I swallowed.

‘You haven’t gone blabbing to Upton, have you?’

For someone who had the ability to make my temperature soar his tone left me cold.

‘Of course, I haven’t,’ I tutted.

If only I’d kept my mouth shut, we wouldn’t be destined to part on such unsatisfactory terms. It broke my heart to think that I would be leaving Wynmouth feeling that I would never be welcome to come back.

‘What is it then?’

‘I’ve just come to say that I’m going to be leaving tomorrow.’

‘Oh,’ he faltered, looking completely taken aback.

‘I’m going in the morning, but of course I’ll pay for the extra time you said I could stay.’

‘There’s no need for that,’ he frowned.

‘It’s the least I can do,’ I swallowed. ‘What shall I do with the key?’