He opened his hand and Rosa saw a single seed resting in his gloved palm. She stared at it. How could he possibly imagine that she cared about plants at such a time? Beatrice had sent a wreath too, along with a heartfelt letter of condolence, but Rosa hadn’t replied to it. She had no wish to see anyone, not even her friends.

‘It comes from no ordinary flower,’ he said quietly. ‘But from a mourning orchid. One of my hybrids. The seeds can only be planted by someone who is grieving. Their love for the lost person nourishes the flower. I thought, perhaps … it might be a fitting way to honour Esme.’

Rosa found herself strangely pleased to hear him speak her name and realised that hardly anyone had done so today. She was always ‘the baby’ or ‘the child’ or ‘the poor dear soul’. It was good to hear her name – to hear someone else acknowledge that she had been a real person, even if she’d only been able to stay with them a very short while.

She recognised the kindness in his gesture, but the truth was that she didn’t care about the orchid. It would not bring Esme back or change what had happened. She took the seed from him only because it seemed to be the fastest way of ending their conversation. She dimly registered that it felt warm through her black glove, before slipping it into her pocket. She realised she ought to thank James, but if she tried, she knew she would begin crying again, and a hundred years would pass before she was able to stop. Fortunately he did not seem to expect a reply.

‘Life can be so very hard,’ he said softly. ‘I wish it were otherwise. Is there anything at all that I can do?’

He was so close to her. Close enough for her to see each of the smile lines around his eyes, to notice the way his brown hair curled over the edge of his collar. Close enough to glimpse that other life she might have had – the one he had offered full of adventure and flowers and love. But in her wisdom, she had chosen ravens and sadness instead, and now there was no turning back. His proximity and the concern in his eyes were suddenly unbearable to her. In that moment she honestly hoped she would never see him again.

‘Please,’ Rosa said hoarsely. ‘Just leave me be.’