Chapter 85. The Man At The End Of The Garden

On the last Saturday in March, Diana woke before her alarm.

For a moment, she didn't remember where she was. The room was dim, the curtains familiar in a way that belonged to another part of her life.

Then she heard her mother moving in the kitchen.

Today.

Diana sat up, her hand going automatically to her phone. There was a message from Gabriel, sent twenty minutes earlier.

I'm already awake.

She smiled.

I hope you're getting dressed.

Eventually. Juliet has opinions about breakfast.

Diana could hear his voice in the words. It steadied her more than any grand reassurance would have done.

Her mother appeared with tea.

“Did you sleep?”

“Enough.”

“So did I.”

Neither sounded entirely convincing. They laughed anyway.

By the time Eva arrived, the apartment had become pleasantly crowded with garment bags, cups and people asking where small things had been put.