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Todd Lattimer and his wife Tanya. They’re a nice couple; she’s his third wife and it seems like he’s finally found the right woman. They’ll be staying here for a few weeks. Todd’s a deputy District Attorney and my immediate boss. He’s quite an Anglophile and should love this place. It would be nice if you could organise a meal that he’ll remember.’
    ‘That won’t be a problem,’ Davina assured him. ‘Do he and his wife have any particular likes or dislikes?’
    Jay’s hazel eyes were thoughtful. ‘Of course they do. What area of their lives are you referring to?’
    Davina felt thoroughly irritated. ‘Are you always this pedantic?’
    ‘In my job every word counts. You have to say what you mean.’
    ‘But from what I hear you don’t necessarily have to mean what you say, at least not in court.’
    ‘Are you referring to American courts or your own justice system?’ he asked, seeming intrigued.
    ‘I don’t suppose our systems are that different,’ she said hastily, realising that she couldn’t afford to antagonise him. ‘In any case, I was referring to food.’
    ‘I think they eat anything.’
    ‘Who are the other two guests?’
    ‘Why, yourself and your boyfriend of course. I thought I’d already made that clear.’
    Davina shook her head. ‘You never mentioned it.’
    ‘How stupid of me. Well, I’ve mentioned it now. Since you’ve lived here for some time you’ll be better placed than I am to answer any questions Todd may have about the area.’ Davina, who’d half hoped he’d asked her because he thought she’d be good company, felt irrationally disappointed at his explanation. It seemed so impersonal, but then that was his style.
    After Clive had placed coffee and biscuits on the small table in front of them and returned to the house, Jay lifted his face towards the sun and gave a small sigh. ‘Someone told me your climate was dreadful but this is very agreeable.’
    ‘The trouble is we don’t get many days like this,’ explained Davina. ‘What’s it like in Boston?’
    ‘It could be raining for all I know. I haven’t spoken to anyone there today.’
    ‘I meant in general,’ she said crossly.
    ‘Right, in general. In general the summers are quite good and the winters very cold but there’s a lot of rain. There, has that satisfied your very English desire for a discussion on weather?’
    ‘Yes thank you,’ said Davina shortly.
    ‘Excellent, then perhaps we can progress to the menu. Have you given it any thought?’
    Davina felt very pleased with herself. ‘Yes I have. I thought it would be nice if we began with a warm mushroom salad, followed by beef cooked with black olives and English vegetables, then for dessert a passion fruit and mango mousse.’
    ‘Sounds great,’ agreed Jay. ‘Well balanced and niceand English. Incidentally, I like people to dress up at dinner. I’m not in favour of this new uniform of jeans and T-shirt that seems to be worn everywhere.’ He looked pointedly at her outfit.
    ‘Neither am I,’ said Davina. ‘These are my working clothes. I’m repainting the kitchen at the moment, in between doing my drawings. I promise I won’t turn up at your dinner party wearing jeans.’
    ‘Good, because I like a woman to look like a woman. I’m not very politically correct. I believe there are basic differences between the sexes which means they can never be truly equal.’
    ‘That sounds like an interesting topic for discussion on Saturday,’ said Davina, refusing to rise to the bait as he watched her with a gleam of anticipation in his eyes. ‘Thanks very much for the coffee, it was delicious. Are you likely to have any typing for me?’ she added.
    Jay frowned. ‘Typing?’
    ‘I used to type for my uncle. Since you’re in the legal profession I thought there might be case studies and things that you needed typed up.’
    ‘I couldn’t possibly hand my work out to anyone but a legal secretary. I do have my reputation to