Liam’s eyes snapped up again, but he didn’t say anything.

‘Of course,’ gasped the woman. ‘I could be anyone, couldn’t I?’

‘Well,’ said Liam, turning as red as a beetroot. ‘It’s not very likely that two wallets could go missing in one day, but I think I would have asked you to somehow identify yourself before I handed it over.’

I felt my own cheeks flush.

‘You’re right, Liam.’ I grimaced. ‘I should have done that.’

The poor lad looked as though he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him, but he was completely right. This woman looked elegant and sophisticated but it didn’t automatically follow that she was the owner of the Chanel wallet.

‘Let’s start again,’ said Jamie, handing Liam the wallet.

‘Good idea,’ agreed the woman. ‘Open it up and pull out a card. You’ll see my name on any one of those. It’s Catherine Connelly.’

Liam looked reluctant, but acquiesced, pulling out a black Coutts card. He read the name then handed it to me.

‘Yes,’ I confirmed, ‘Catherine Connelly.’

‘Sorry,’ said Liam, handing me the wallet again.

‘Don’t you apologise,’ said Catherine Connelly. ‘You did the right thing.’

‘You did, Liam,’ I added. ‘I should be the one apologising.’

I handed the wallet back and Catherine Connelly immediately opened it and pulled out a crisp twenty-pound note which she thrust into Liam’s hand.

‘Consider that a finder’s fee,’ she smiled at him. ‘Thank you for keeping my wallet safe. My husband gave it to me many Christmases ago and I would have been devastated to lose it.’

Personally, I would have been pretty upset about the lost cash too.

‘Which is why I’m going to carry it,’ said Jamie, tucking it into a pocket on the inside of his jacket.

‘We’ve had a wonderful day,’ said Catherine Connelly as she and her son drifted away. ‘This place is charming. Utterly charming.’

Liam looked from his hand to me and back again.

‘Thank you!’ he called after them and they turned and waved.

‘Well done, Liam,’ I grinned. I still felt a bit of a fool, but praise where praise was due. ‘What an absolutely fabulous way to end your day.’

Chapter 13

During the next few days, life at Wynter’s Trees settled into a routine which I found rather comforting. Having spent practically my entire life in an educational environment in one capacity or another – first as a student and then as staff – my days and months were bound by the academic calendar and without the rigidity of it, I had felt a little adrift. At least that was in part what I put the unsettled feelings down to.

However, even with the new routine, I still had plenty of time for introspection and couldn’t help mulling over what Chelsea had confided in me along with how her traumatic teenage years had impacted on mine.