‘Of course.’ Mia beamed back at her, running her hands down the front of her jeans.

‘I just wondered if you had time for a quick lunch? On me, of course,’ she added.

‘Erm …’ The invitation had taken her by surprise and Mia was immediately flustered, because why on earth would Janie Wood want to take her to lunch, unless there was a specific reason. And if there was …

‘We don’t have to be long,’ she was saying. ‘I’m sure you’re very busy.’

‘I, er …’ Come on, Mia, say something, she berated herself, because on the one hand it felt like all her Christmases had come at once, that she could be lunching with Janie Wood, and on the other: why was she?

‘I thought we could have a chat. I feel bad I haven’t done it before. You’ve been here months already,’ Janie said.

She sounded genuine, but it didn’t feel like a strong enough reason to want to take her out to lunch. And if that was the case, then Mia wondered what Janie’s ulterior motive was. When she replied, ‘That sounds lovely – and you don’t have to feel bad,’ she felt uneasy.

They agreed to meet at a sandwich bar on Lymington High Street in half an hour. Somewhere away from the quay, Mia realised. As if there was every likelihood Janie wanted to keep Harry in the dark about what was beginning to feel like a clandestine meeting.

‘Harry doesn’t know I’m here,’ Janie said, confirming Mia’s suspicions as they ordered their sandwiches and sat down. She shrugged sheepishly, like it was no big deal, though Mia wondered whether it was.

‘Do you think he’d mind?’ Mia asked.

‘Oh no …’ Janie waved her hand through the air, and Mia shifted in her seat as she waited to find out the purpose of their lunch.

Janie was asking her how she was getting on, what she thought of the job, and so Mia told her she liked it, as she picked the cress out of her egg sandwich. She noticed Janie hadn’t touched the wrap that sat intact on her plate.

‘How do you find everyone?’

The sudden thought crossed Mia’s mind that Janie could be here to ask about her husband and Laura Denning, and it was such a relief that the reason could be something that didn’t involve her that she let out a deep breath, before plunging the sandwich into her mouth. She had no idea how she’d answer if Janie did ask outright, although the woman was already moving on.

‘So where do you come from?’ Janie asked, squinting her eyes as if she was trying to place her.

‘Lymington, actually,’ she said. ‘I was born here. I grew up here.’

‘Oh, really?’

Mia nodded.

‘It’s such a beautiful place, isn’t it? Do you have a family?’