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trimmed bright gold hair, vivid blue eyes and strong sensitive features.
    She waited till she heard the utility door slam and the sound of the engine die away before she went down the stairs.
    ‘Just in time,’ Hudson greeted her pleasantly. ‘I was going to call you, but Cam held me up. The steak will be ready in two minutes. I’ll mix you a drink. Take a seat.’ She obeyed him automatically, sitting on the edge of her chair, nervously fingering and smoothing her lace collar.
    He placed a long cold drink in front of her and raised his own glass. ‘Here’s to our first meeting.’
    She held up her glass in a return salute then took a drink as he moved back to the stove where the steak spat and sizzled. The fiery concoction steadied her a little. ‘I thought I heard voices.’
    ‘Young Cameron Blair. He’s quick off the mark—he’s got Milo down in the yards already. He’ll start work on him in the morning.’
    Serenity tried to quell the rising panic. She had to get away from here, she had been a fool to come. Her mother had never come back, and she had been wise.
    ‘Steak dinner for two.’ Hudson slid her plate in front of her.
    ‘Does he live far from here?’ Serenity helped herself to the side salad as if it was the most important thing in her life.
    ‘Who? Oh, Cam . . . not far, ten miles or so. He’s Robert Blair’s son, the eldest. Now Robert could probably help you find your ex-patient. Their family has been here since the year dot. Might even be one of them as he had a couple of sisters and they are married up North. I’ll run you up there tomorrow.’
    Serenity choked and coughed. ‘Sorry about that.’ Hudson half rose from his seat, then, seeing she was all right, said, ‘Don’t you dare infer that my steak is so tough it choked you.’
    ‘No, it’s fine, beautifully cooked.’
    ‘Good, now where were we? Oh, the Blairs, they came out here in the horse and buggy days, about the same time as Sarah and Old Tom.’
    ‘Did the Tarrants not have any children?’
    ‘One daughter, but I can’t remember her name. In fact I can’t even remember seeing her. Still, when I was a kid Old Tom was running a feud with Dad so the families didn’t have too much contact. I told you he fought with everyone. But he got over it, he had to later on, because he was so stroppy he couldn’t get anyone to work for him, so he had to swallow his pride and get Dad to give a hand. That’s how I came to know Sarah.’
    ‘And even though you were friends she never talked about her daughter to you?’ Serenity prompted him. If she was leaving tomorrow she wanted to learn everything she could from Hudson tonight.
    ‘Only once and that was the night I brought her home from his funeral. She talked a blue streak, as if his death had released the safety catch on all the emotions that she had locked away for years. Not that she criticised her husband, she would never do that . . .’
    He finished his steak, then smiled at Serenity. ‘Now for dessert. You can have a choice, ice-cream and fruit, or fruit and ice-cream?’
    ‘Ice-cream and fruit, please.’
    ‘Good, a wise choice. My staple diet is ice-cream, with fruit in summer, and with apple crumble or steamed pudding in the winter. See how easy I am to cater for. . . aren’t you glad that you said you’d be my housekeeper?’
    ‘I haven’t said I would be staying.’
    He took her plate over to the sinkbench and went to the fridge before coming back with a large bowl of preserved apricots and a carton of ice-cream. ‘It was a foregone conclusion.’
    ‘What was?’ Serenity sat up a little more erect in her chair.
    ‘That you would stay here, of course,’ he replied complacently.
    ‘You’re wrong. I have decided to leave in the morning.’
    ‘And that’s an irrevocable decision?’ His eyes were lit with amusement. ‘With Milo already in the yards?’
    ‘If there were ten Milos in the yards I’d still be leaving.’
    ‘How?’
    ‘Somehow,’ she