Jo was silent, giving Philip time to realise why Karen was protective of her mother.

‘It won't take you that long to find, will it?' Philip went on.

Now he seemed to be grudging her time in her old home, Jo felt indignant. 'I do need my summer clothes and I would prefer it if – you weren't there.' Jo was surprised at how shaky she felt at the prospect of seeing her husband's new woman.

‘Better for Samantha too. I don't want her getting upset.’

Jo's shakiness became anger. 'Of course not.' She bit out the words with more emphasis than was really appropriate.

Dora and Tom looked at their plates.

‘No need to get antsy. The house is immaculate. Samantha has redecorated the spare room and it looks lovely.’

It looked lovely when I decorated it, thought Jo, outraged at the thought of her humorous toile de Jouy wallpaper being removed. 'Dora and I will come next weekend, if that's all right. But do please arrange to be out. I would hate to upset Samantha.’

Chapter Ten

‘Well, that's told him,' said Dora a few moments later.

‘He always was irritating,' said Jo, sitting back down and piercing a piece of lettuce rather fiercely. 'But since he left me, I haven't bothered to suppress my feelings. But don't worry, Dora, they'll be out when we go. You won't have to face a dreadful scene. Eat up, both of you.'

‘So, Tom, what's all this about you making Dora do karaoke?' she asked after a calming few moments of companionable munching.

‘She was excellent. I was well impressed.' He shot Dora a look of admiration that only Jo noticed.

‘Good for you, Dora. Now, could one of you open some more wine?’

They had a jolly meal and Jo managed to put all thoughts of her ex-husband, his new partner and her anxieties about going home to the back of her mind, but afterwards she wanted some time to herself. Unsure how to get this, it was Tom who came to her rescue.

‘That was fantastic, Jo. Can I repay you by taking you out for a nightcap?'

‘What, now?' asked Jo and Tom nodded. 'Dora, are you willing ever to go to a pub with Tom again?’

Dora looked at Tom and then back to Jo.

‘I mean, if a friend of mine made me get up and sing in public I wouldn't let him within a hundred miles of me,' Jo went on. 'But if you could find it in you to take him up on his offer, I would be fine on my own.'

‘But you made supper,' protested Tom mildly. 'You should have a reward.'

‘And we couldn't leave you with the washing-up,' added Dora.

‘We have a dishwasher and I would really like a few moments to get my head round various things. Quite a lot of things.’

There was a pause before Tom said, 'If you're sure?’

Jo nodded. 'Do go – they'll be calling time soon.’

Tom and Dora looked at her pityingly. 'They don't do that at the local these days,' Tom explained. 'It always stays open until midnight.'

‘Oh goodness, I'd forgotten. I really hope I don't need to get a job as a barmaid.'

‘Come on, Tom,' said Dora. 'I think Jo needs some peace.’

As they were saying their goodbyes, Jo's bra buzzed. She turned away and reached into it.

°Does she always keep her phone in her bra?' she heard Tom ask as he and Dora went up the steps.

‘Anything she doesn't want to lose, she told me,' said Dora as they disappeared into the night.

‘Hi, Jo?' said a male voice. 'Michael.’

She was immediately anxious. 'Oh. Hello.' She paused, waiting for his reason for calling. First an email, now a phone call. He hardly ever rang her.

‘Yes – um – I thought I ought to call you, rather than reply on email. I wasn't sure when you'd be on-line again.’

‘Oh?'

‘Yes. It's about the dry dock.’

Something in his tone of voice made her move to where she could sit down. 'What about the dry dock?'

‘It's quite a serious situation. The thing is, the moorings company won't let us stay without a Boat Safety Certificate and up-to-date insurance. One of the reasons I remem bered is because I'd had an email from Steve.’

Frantically Jo trawled her brain for a Steve and couldn't find a match. 'Sorry, who's Steve?'

‘He's the man at the office. You may not have met him, anyway, he's a good guy and told me they're having a crackdown. It's to get people to move those half-sunk old wrecks from down the end.'

‘Oh. But we're not a half-sunk old wreck from down the end.' Jo felt her anxiety increase.

‘No, but we have to have our paperwork up to date,' Michael insisted. 'I also want to get the hull shot-blasted and a coat of epoxy put on.'

‘Oh.'

‘The thing is, Jo, I want The Three Sisters to go to Holland for that.'

‘ Holland!'

‘Yes.' He paused. 'It's part of the EU, you know, not the other side of the world.'

‘But it is the other side of the North Sea!'

‘I'm not expecting you to take her there, Jo!'

‘Good!' Her voice became very quiet and high. Hearing it, she strived to sound light-hearted and bantering. 'But where am I going to go while The Three Sisters is visiting windmills and red cheeses?’

Misinterpreting the reason for her mouse-like tones, Michael strived to be reassuring. 'You'll stay with her, of course. There's no need for you to move off the barge. Go along for the ride! Do the cooking. Be useful,' he added.

Jo moistened her lips. 'I think I should explain, Michael. Although I've really loved living on the barge and might even consider buying one of my own, I really do not want to go anywhere on it. The thought terrifies me. And I get seasick.'

‘There's no need to be anxious. She's as safe as houses; you could go anywhere in her.’

But I don't want to, Jo said to herself. 'Really, whoever is taking her to Holland doesn't want me around, getting in the way, worrying about it capsizing all the time.'

‘You're not like that, Jo! You'd be an asset.’

Jo wondered where he was getting his information from. 'How? How can I be an asset? I said, I know nothing about boats, I get seasick, and I'd be scared witless.'

‘You can cook. Make cups of tea, keep everyone happy. It's a vital role. It's miserable if you've been on watch for hours and hours and have to heat yourself up some ghastly ready meal.'

‘Ready meals have come on a lot recently,' muttered Jo.

‘If you won't go, I'll have to find another cook.'

‘It's not just a matter of me not going,' said Jo, lying through gritted teeth, 'it's that I can't. Dora, my temporary lodger, has just started a new job at the boatyard on the island.' She waited for Michael's approval, but it didn't come. 'She can't just go off to Holland, and she lives with me.'

‘I'm sure she could find alternative accommodation. But be that as it may-'

‘That sounds very pompous, Michael.' said Jo, stalling for time.

He chuckled and said, 'Be that as it may again, the boat needs to go into dry dock, and I really want her to get her hull done in Holland. They know her, they're reasonable, and it's very hard to get it done in England.’

Jo sighed, resigned to the fact that The Three Sisters had to go to Holland – with or without her. 'OK. I'll try and find a cook and somewhere for me and Dora to live.

When do you need to go and how long would it all take?'

‘I've booked her in for mid-June. It should take about three weeks if all goes well. That's just under a month away, near enough. You should have got it all sorted by then, shouldn't you? But you really ought to go with her. It would be the trip of a lifetime. I'd go myself like a shot,' he said quickly, anticipating her next question, 'but I'm so tied up at work.’

Jo sighed again. Her dreams of becoming a restorer and gilder might turn out to be only dreams and a lot of expensive equipment. 'I wish I could say the same, but maybe all I'm fit for is to cook for people on boat trips.'