That was annoying too. I had been hoping to get straight down to business, but I could hardly talk to Ned about my plan without his father present.

‘Never mind,’ said Ned, picking up on my disappointment. ‘It’ll give you time to get to know the place again without him breathing down your neck.’

He said it without sarcasm, and I noticed there was a hint of a smile playing about his lips. I guessed he knew how often and how hard his dad had tried to get me to come back. I didn’t point out that getting to know the place again was the last thing I intended to do.

‘Look,’ I said instead, noticing he was in danger of becoming frozen to the spot, ‘why don’t we go inside? You’re going to catch your death out here.’

‘Good idea,’ he said, looking down at me. ‘It is a bit brisk, isn’t it? And I’ve left the shower on. Can you manage to bring your stuff in?’

‘Of course.’ I said, wondering why exactly he was using the bathroom in the lodge.

The shock of seeing him half-naked meant it hadn’t registered before and there was no chance to ask him because he eagerly, and not surprisingly, sprinted off. I pushed the gate further open, drove my car through, then closed it again and transferred my few bits of luggage from the boot to the veranda before taking a deep breath and lugging it inside.

Finding myself back in the lodge felt every bit as uncomfortable as I had expected it to and as I looked about the place, I felt satisfied that my mission to cut all ties with the business was the right one. I would endure this unwelcome onslaught of emotions, with my mind firmly focused on convincing Ned to buy me out and my eyes trained on next year’s calendar, the travel brochures and my business plans back in my flat.

‘New year, new start,’ I whispered. ‘New year, new me.’

Looking at the room in more detail, I realised it didn’t look as if it had been abandoned and shut up at all and it didn’t smell or feel like it either. It was warm and cosy, thanks to the roaring log burner, and there was the delicious scent of something hearty coming from the kitchen. If I hadn’t known better, I would have said the place was being lived in but that couldn’t be right, could it?

Heavy footfall on the stairs drew my attention and I gasped as Ned came back into view and a dog started barking somewhere.

‘What on earth?’ I frowned, further poleaxed by his choice of clothes. ‘Why are you wearing that jumper?’ I blurted out. ‘It belonged to my dad.’

Ned looked fondly down at the chunky snowflake patterned navy knit which encased his broad chest and flat stomach.