The man didn’t just look like Charles. It was Charles. No wonder she’d thought he and Ray looked so alike. Grace smiled to herself and rolled her eyes heavenwards. What kind of idiot couldn’t recognise their own husband?! Honestly! Charles would laugh at her when they got home and she told him how she’d mistaken him for Ray.

But what was Charles doing here? He was supposed to be in Newcastle rehearsing today. They must have finished early, Grace reasoned, or maybe it was their lunch break. It was less than a half-hour drive from the city. Easy enough to pop over and then pop back. But why was he making clandestine visits to the couple, just as she was? How funny that would be – both of them independently building a relationship with the family in secret. This was going to be such a great dinner party story when they finally all came clean and the whole tale was revealed.

However, stumbling into Charles’s secret meeting left Grace in a tricky spot. If she knocked on the door now, he would find out that she had been here on her own and not told him. Whilst she was certain Charles would see the funny side in time, she wasn’t sure she wanted to risk a row here in front of Melissa and potentially Ray, if he was in the house, too. Charles had made it clear that he didn’t want them to have anything to do with Ray when he’d first told her about the house (although it appeared to be one rule for him and another for her on this matter, which was a little vexing and something to raise with him at a later date) so maybe it would be better if she just kept quiet for the time being. She could ask him some strategic questions, test the water a little bit before she revealed the truth about her secret trips.

Grace tutted to herself. She felt slightly cheated out of spending some time with Melissa, but leaving was probably the best thing to do in the circumstances. She would just have to come back again another day.

Still, would it hurt to just walk past the house and have a sneaky peep through the lounge window? No one would recognise her if she kept her head down, and they probably wouldn’t be looking out on to the street anyway. The opportunity was too tempting for Grace to resist.