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freedom. Doesn’t she realise how many girls must be lining up to take her place?’
    Rick held her away slightly. ‘Don’t be jealous of May. It’s about time she got off the treadmill. I hope she’s having some fun at last. I won’t be sorry to see the back of Mr Bloody Obnoxious either.’
    ‘I know you’ve never liked him,’ sighed Cathy, thinking that no blokes were ever good enough for their daughters so far as dads were concerned. In any case, it was probably better to steer him off the subject of Aiden. ‘But her catching a boat makes me feel even more that we’ve missed ours.’
    Picking one of her hairs off his shirt, Rick paused for a moment then turned to her. ‘Right, then,’ he said. ‘This is what we’ll do. First of all we’ll get shot of this place. That’ll free you up. I can get casual work anywhere. We’ll put the house on the market and while we’re waiting for a buyer we’ll go off in the camper van and have a look at places. We could start off in Cornwall and work our way up through Wales and the west of Scotland and we’ll keep looking until we find somewhere that feels like home. We could go off to France, if you like, or maybe travel for a while. It’s up to you.’
    Cathy was feeling a touch of cold about her own feet now. ‘But what will we live on?’
    Shrugging, Rick headed for the door. ‘Something will turn up. Anyway, money doesn’t matter. Isn’t that what we’ve always said?’
    Blowing a kiss at her through the window, he ran off in the direction of the car park, leaving Cathy staring after him in dismay. After years of casting herself as a free spirit anchored by the ties of domestic duties, the reality of being unleashed to take off in any direction had suddenly lost its appeal. It was all very well pretending money didn’t matter until you ran out. Then look at what had happened. Now, when she could almost touch her dream of success, she was suddenly reluctant to give up on the idea of becoming a successful businesswoman with cash to splash. And, she thought, catching sight of her reflection in one of the mirrors, she could get some Botox and fix her frown lines.
    At last she collected herself sufficiently to change the sign on the door, then leant against it whilst she surveyed her domain. This was her world, the place that she’d created. How could she give up on it now, when better times were just around the corner? Someone banged violently on the glass panel, almost sending her into orbit. A customer! Right, she’d think about what to say to Rick later, but first she would attend to her business.
    ‘I’ve been down the library and they’ve never heard of your production.’
    Great, just what she needed, a vengeful Miss Marple.
    ‘You need some publicity, my dear. It’ll be a crying shame if no one sees your performance. Now give me some leaflets and I’ll make sure they’re distributed for you.’
    Trust her to get lumbered with a persistent old biddy. What a drag! Once the makeover was complete, Soul Survivor would be so intimidatingly sophisticated and glamorous that no daft old bat or teenage girls hoping to nick nail varnish would dare cross the threshold. Until then, she’d just have to assume her Death Stare to put them off. May really didn’t know how cosseted she was! Perhaps a few days in the real world fending for herself would help her appreciate what she was turning her back on. It was also about time she stopped being so inconsiderate and let them know exactly where she was. The sooner the better, for everyone’s sake.

Chapter Five
    It wasn’t until
Lucille
took off backwards, aided by a sudden gust of wind, that May asked herself if she shouldn’t have been more thorough about establishing Bill’s credentials. Their course seemed to be set in a slow but relentlessly determined arc across what felt like a very narrow stretch of water separating her from other vessels. Looking to Bill to settle her doubts about the advisability