Ruth had enjoyed a happy life. Adam had stayed with her, although something in the phrases Ruth used so carefully had made Kathleen wonder if there had been an affair in there at some point. It wouldn’t have surprised her, just as the fact that Adam had enjoyed a distinguished career didn’t surprise her.

Kathleen pictured him, sure and confident standing at a lectern. A little thicker around the middle, perhaps, hair with a few silvery streaks. But he would have had presence. Adam always had presence.

Martha reached across and gave her hand a squeeze. “Did it upset you, Kathleen?”

Upset? No.

“It unsettled me, but it was the right thing to do.”

“And are you going to get in touch with Ruth?”

“That, I haven’t decided.” And it had been weighing on her since Liza had read the last letter.

Martha nodded. “I suppose that depends on whether you want this to be the end, or a beginning. It could be either.”

Kathleen stopped walking. The heat pressed down on her.

An end or a beginning. Martha was right.

Which was it to be? Should she view the letters as closure, or should she make contact with Ruth?

She hadn’t replied to a single one of Ruth’s letters. Her old friend knew nothing about her life, or even that she was still alive.

She thought about it for the whole afternoon, and while she was dressing for dinner. Her room was delightful, with antique furnishings, a hand-woven Zapotec rug and a cast-iron tub.

Ready early, she sat on the chair next to the bed and called Liza, who answered almost immediately even though it was past midnight.

“Did I wake you?”

“No. I was finishing off a painting in the summerhouse so Sean and I ate late. We only just finished clearing up. We stole a bottle of wine from your cellar.”

Kathleen smiled. “Steal away. You know how much I approve of indulgence.”

“I’ve been thinking about you all day. Are you all right, Mum?”

“Yes, although I’ve been thinking about those letters of course.”

“I’ve been thinking about them too.” There was a clatter in the background. “She had a happy life. You were partly responsible for that.”

“I don’t see it that way, but I’m pleased she was happy.”

“How is Arizona?”

“Hot.” Kathleen gazed out the window. “Tomorrow is the Grand Canyon, and I’m hopeful that Martha and Josh might get together.”

“Are you still matchmaking?”

“Shamelessly.”

Liza laughed. “Keep me posted on that. Sounds as if Martha could do with some fun in her life. And how about you? Have you decided whether you’re going to contact Ruth?”

“I’m still thinking about it.”

“Well, if you want to talk about it, or think it through aloud, you know I’m here.”