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‘I believe we are.’

He looked at me in astonishment. ‘Well, that's where they all are, you great ninny!’ He gave me an affectionate nudge, which knocked me halfway across the room, nearly dislocating my elbow. ‘Call yerself a twitcher!’

I gave a high, hyena-like laugh. ‘Heee! Yes, hopeless!’ I steadied myself on the chest of drawers.

‘Well, anyway, luv,’ he straightened up, almost to attention, head grazing the ceiling, ‘I'm away. Just popped up to say goodbye to you. Thought you might be up by now.’

‘Yes, I… overslept a bit. But I'm very glad you did. Goodbye, Ted.’ I went to peck his cheek but he'd already enveloped me in a huge bear hug and I found myself pressed hard against his chest, arms clamped to my sides.

‘Goodbye, luv,’ he said gruffly. ‘I'm that made up to have met you all. Really I am. All of you.’ I couldn't breath. My eyes bulged into his shirt.

‘You too!’ I managed when he'd finally released me.

And then he was gone – out of the room and down the stairs, no doubt to say goodbye to the others. I watched as he reappeared below, through the French windows into the garden; saw Ant and Bella stand up to say goodbye as he approached, bag in hand. And he saw nothing peculiar, Terrific Ted, as he'd become in my mind, in the two of them sitting under the tree together, and she didn't get up with a start. I watched as Ant shook his hand, and then Bella hugged him as he took his leave. How I envied him. I clutched the windowsill. I wanted to go too, wanted, with all my heart, to be a hundred miles from here. The look Ant had given Bella as he'd tucked her hair back had pierced my heart. It spoke volumes. Because I knew Ant. Knew he wasn't given to little gestures like that. This man, Terrific, Tactile Ted, who squeezed me at a moment's notice, who'd gently chided me back there for reading too much into the situation, was wrong. He was clearly a demonstrative huggy man but not my Ant.

On an impulse I darted to the bathroom, threw my toothbrush and face creams into my handbag and went downstairs. Ant and Bella were strolling up the garden with Ted, towards the side of the house, making for his car at the front. They saw me and stopped. Waved.

‘Hiya!’ called Bella.

‘Hi!’ I called back.

‘Did you sleep well?’

I tripped across the lawn to join them. ‘Really well, thank you.’

She shaded her eyes with her hand against the sun. ‘Only the girls wanted to wake you, bring you a cup of tea, but I told them you'd rather have a lie-in. I know I would!’

‘Yes! Quite right.’

She was looking particularly lovely, I noticed, in a white pin-tucked peasanty top, a tiered denim skirt and floppy suede boots. What teeny tiny legs she had poking out of them.

‘Um, where are the girls?’

‘Oh, they went into town after breakfast, caught the bus. Stacey wanted to show Anna around, have a hot chocolate, mooch round Topshop. I hope you don't mind?’ She looked anxious, suddenly.

‘Oh, no, not at all. It's just…’

‘Is everything all right, darling?’ Ant looked concerned. Much as one would about a maiden aunt, I felt.

‘Well, not entirely. I've just had a call from Caro,’ I lied.

‘Oh?’

‘I'm afraid someone's ill.’

‘Oh Lord, who?’

It couldn't be one of the cousins. I never, ever used a child, not now. Not after using Anna once, claiming she was sick and we couldn't go to dinner with Ant's terrifying faculty head and his fearsome, moustachioed wife, and then the very next day – the very next day – she'd been so sick, with a raging temperature and a thumping headache, which I was convinced was meningitis and God's finger pointing, and I'd rushed her to the doctor's, heart in mouth, Anna's chin welded to her chest where I made her keep it for days on end… no, not a child.

‘It's – Hector.’

‘Hector?’ Bella frowned.

‘Oh, thank God. The horse,’ Ant explained.

‘Yes, but he's really bad,’ I urged. ‘Been terribly sick all night, and Caro's so worried.’

‘Can horses be sick?’ wondered Ant, aloud.

There was a reflective