Well enough. Bill didn’t like the way she spoke. Who was Jane to come here and judge his wife? Jane was a stranger. She belonged to the ‘before’, a past that was dead to him. Lottie and the children were his life now, and this uninvited memory had no right to just break in and judge it.

Worse than that… meet his family… oh God.

Bill could just about imagine how Lottie would handle being ‘taught' how to keep a house… She would have absolutely none of it. It was better for both if they were kept well apart. And as for Kate, there was no way his children could meet Jane, and, God forbid, ask questions.

Bill’s face had turned an unhealthy grey again His hands wrapped around the cup just a little too firmly. He watched it, avoiding her gaze once again. “Say, Jane. I don’t think that’s a good idea, really,” he spoke uncomfortably. “We weren’t expecting anyone and I don’t want to stress Lottie out. I could come up north sometime…”