I usher her back to camp, and when I return, Nick explains – as I’d suspected – that not even his father is entirely sure of the precise number of offspring, ‘although there were already two more when he took me over to Vancouver with him …’

‘You went to Canada?’ I exclaim.

‘Yes, just the once, when I was four years old. He seemed to have a sudden burst of wanting to be a great dad, or at least to give that impression to his new partner. It was short-lived, thankfully. Just a rush of blood to the head.’ He smiles, and as those grey-blue eyes seem to fix on mine, something seems to happen to, I don’t know – my heart perhaps? It kind of … turns, making me aware of its presence, reminding me that it is still a fully functioning thing.

Oh, but he is extremely attractive. Even I – a woman who’ll never be concerned with such matters ever again – can’t dispute the fact that his eyes radiate kindness, and are quite lovely. I’m regretting the fact that my face is undoubtedly shiny and pink, and my hair a state from running around after the kids for hours on end. I haven’t looked in a mirror since around 8 a.m. and, although I am wearing a decent dress, neatly fitted with a tiny black and red check, I’ve now noticed a smear of creamy cake icing on the front.

I wonder what happened in Canada, and why Penny has never mentioned Nick’s trip to visit his dad. However, after Izzy’s quizzing I decide to leave asking for now. Instead, I say, ‘I know it’s late, but would you like to come upstairs?’ I catch myself immediately and silently curse my sizzling face. ‘To see the Girl Friday collection,’ I add quickly. ‘I’m storing it all in Spencer’s room.’

Nick grins and gets up. Did he catch my blustering just then? ‘Yes, of course,’ he says, cool as anything. ‘I’d love to see it.’

Chapter Thirty-One

Early hours of Sunday, November 3

Over an hour, we’ve been up here, examining his mother’s designs which, bizarrely, have colonised my son’s bedroom. I have hung up as many of the garments as possible: bright, block-coloured trouser suits, jaunty jackets and print dresses emblazoned with oversized flowers and graphic prints. Despite my rather workaday approach to dressing these past few years, as these pieces have arrived I’ve remembered how much I used to love to dress up for a special night out, and how uplifting and unashamedly fun fashion can be.