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‘I just don’t see why you won’t do it,’ Aunt Polly grumbled. ‘Personally, I think it’s a brilliant idea. One of my very best, and I’ve had some smashing ones in my time.’

‘It’s not that I won’t do it,’ I explained patiently. ‘I’ll probably have to, because how else am I going to explain to Max that I know for a fact his grandad was innocent? What I’m saying is, I’m not happy about it.’

‘But why ever not? This could solve everything. He’ll finally believe that ghosts exist. He’ll have no choice.’

‘Yes, and he’ll know that my great-aunt was sitting on the bench next to him and his daughter, eavesdropping on their private conversation. He’s going to be paranoid! What with you and Isaac, how is he ever going to dare say anything ever again in this village?’

I sighed heavily, realising that may not be an issue much longer. Now Rissa was leaving Rowan Vale, and the mystery of Max’s grandfather was solved, he would have no reason to return.

There was, I thought, no point in dwelling on all that. I would go to his house one evening this week and tell him what he needed to know. Then I’d leave and that would be that.

Anyway, for tonight, I was determined to put it all behind me. Here I was in the ballroom at Harling Hall, surrounded by friends and neighbours, and resolved to have a bloody good time if it killed me.

Callie and Brodie had hired a seven-piece swing band for the evening, and all the villagers had been invited. They’d extended the invitation to Christie and Scott, and to Pippa, naturally, as a thank you for her support in The Cotswolds Courier .

Most of us had got dressed up for the occasion, though few were in 1940s costumes. I think maybe we were all costumed out. After all, we spent most of our working lives dressed as people from other eras, and it was good to cast all that off and just be our contemporary selves again.

Callie looked lovely in a dove-grey dress, and Brodie was handsome in a dinner suit.

It was nice to see Lawrie there, too. He hadn’t been into the village much in recent months, as his mobility wasn’t so good, but Aunt Polly had told me he was enjoying a new lease of life, helping Walter Tasker teach the ghost children.

‘That girl can sing,’ Christie said, as she and Pippa came over to join us. She nodded at the temporary stage that had been erected at one end of the ballroom. The swing band were performing the first of their two sixty-minute sets, and the vocalist was belting out ‘Taking a Chance on Love’.

The dance floor was already busy, although the buffet table was seeing its fair share of the action, too. It was the first time I could remember when I didn’t feel any interest in exploring the food options.

‘This is such fun,’ Pippa said, sipping a cocktail. ‘What a shame Grandad didn’t come.’

‘I think your grandad’s had a trying few days,’ I told her. ‘He needs a bit of time to get his head around everything.’

‘But he will, won’t he?’ Aunt Polly asked, her green eyes troubled. ‘You do think he’ll be okay?’

‘He’ll be right as rain,’ I promised her.

‘In a way, he’s relieved it’s all out in the open.

I think it’s been at the back of his mind all these years, wanting to know the truth but not wanting to push you for answers.

The truth might not have been what he wanted to hear but it was what he needed to hear, and now he can begin to process it all. ’

‘And he understands? About Ray, I mean. He wasn’t a bad man. I want you all to know that. He was just so confused. He thought he was protecting me. He thought Gerhard had forced me to be with him. He didn’t understand that I loved him.’

‘I know,’ I reassured her. ‘We all know. If you can forgive him, so can we. He was ill. We get it.’ I gave Christie an apologetic look. ‘Sorry, love. I know it must be frustrating for you when we talk to Aunt Polly.’

‘It’s okay. I’m just glad everything’s sorted out now. I wish I could tell Aunt Polly how much I love her, even though I can’t see her.’

I glanced at my aunt, who smiled and nodded at me.

‘You just did, love,’ I told Christie.

‘And I love her too,’ Aunt Polly added.

‘Aunt Polly says she couldn’t care less and to go away and stop pestering her,’ Pippa told her sister.

Christie burst out laughing. ‘So, she loves me too, right?’

‘Damn, there’s no winding you up these days,’ Pippa complained.

Polly laughed. ‘These girls of yours are a tonic,’ she told me. ‘I’m glad they came tonight.’ She gazed around the ballroom. ‘Tell you what, it’s proving a popular event with the ghosts. Loads of them are here.’

‘Any sign of Agnes and Aubrey?’ I asked.

She craned her neck to get a better look but eventually admitted that she couldn’t see them anywhere.

‘Florrie’s here, though,’ she said, smiling. ‘She’s dancing with Imogen. They’re having a whale of a time.’

‘Any sign of Harmony Hill?’ Pippa asked eagerly. ‘What I wouldn’t give to interview her! But even if I did that through you, Aunt Polly, no one would ever believe it. I’d probably be sued for libel or something.’

‘She’s not here anyway,’ Aunt Polly told us.

‘I didn’t really expect her to be. She’s been pushed out of her comfort zone quite a lot lately, and I think she probably needs to recharge her batteries as you youngsters say.

She’ll come back to us when she’s ready.

I think there’s hope for her yet. Ooh, there’s Isaac.

Now, I want another word with him about his eavesdropping on private conversations. Bloody cheek.’

She hurried off and I shook my head, realising that she didn’t see the irony of that at all, even after all the nosying around she’d done lately!

Callie and Clara came over, both looking flushed and excited.

‘Having a good time?’ Callie asked.

‘Fantastic,’ I said automatically. ‘You’ve done a great job, Callie. The whole weekend’s been brilliant.’

‘So much better than I expected,’ Callie said.

‘I’ve just been speaking to Robyn from The Magic Lantern.

She says they’ve had a sell-out weekend!

She’s over the moon with the takings. Hey, and get this!

She asked me what I thought about them offering more contemporary snacks at the cinema in future.

Apparently, some of the visitors were disappointed with the squash and ice cream options. ’

‘Get away,’ I said, laughing. ‘Who’d have thought it?’

Amelia wandered over at that point, just in time to hear the good news. She looked delighted.

‘Wonderful,’ she said. ‘I might even visit myself if they get something decent to eat. At the very least they could offer popcorn. That was definitely around in the 1940s. I know. I checked.’

‘I went to see Brief Encounter ,’ Clara admitted. ‘I just wanted an hour or so’s peace from the kids and Jack. Worst mistake ever.’

‘Was it boring?’ Christie asked, wrinkling her nose. ‘I’ve never fancied it myself.’

‘Boring? I blubbed my way through the entire thing. I was a wreck when I left that cinema. Honestly, and this is me who didn’t even shed a tear during that scene in Titanic. I was hoping Jack would push Rose off the door and climb on it himself.’

‘Oh my God,’ I gasped. ‘You’re a monster!’

‘I know, right? Yet there I was blubbing over some posh couple in a train station. Pathetic.’

‘Er, Mum?’

I turned to Pippa. ‘Yes, love?’

‘Be prepared for a shock,’ she murmured, and slowly turned me round to face the door.

Max had just walked in.

‘Ooh,’ Amelia said. ‘Your handsome friend is here.’

‘Handsome friend?’ Clara asked. ‘What have I missed?’

‘Mum and Max have been, er, walking out,’ Pippa said, showing a remarkable lack of discretion.

‘You have?’ Callie squeezed my shoulder. ‘That’s fabulous news.’

I was still staring at Max, who was standing alone, looking quite lost and uncertain. What was he doing here? There was no sign of Rissa.

‘They’ve had a bit of a falling out,’ Christie whispered to an enthralled Callie and Clara.

I didn’t even know Christie knew about me and Max! Pippa must have told her. Honestly, I’d have to speak to my daughters about family loyalty and how to keep it zipped unless otherwise instructed.

‘Well, he’s here now,’ Amelia pointed out.

‘But not for me,’ I said.

‘Who else then?’ Pippa asked.

At that moment, Max spotted me. He gave me the sweetest, shyest smile, and a hesitant wave.

‘Aw,’ Clara said, sounding suspiciously tearful, ‘who needs Brief Encounter ?’

‘Go and talk to him, Mum,’ Christie urged. ‘You know you want to.’

She was right. I did. But I was scared. What if it all went wrong again? What if we started arguing? What if…

Then I thought about Aunt Polly and Gerhard. Aunt Polly and Uncle Charlie. She’d had her chances of happiness ripped away from her twice by circumstances she couldn’t control. The only person standing in the way of my chance at happiness was me.

‘Wish me luck,’ I muttered, and forced myself to walk to where Max was standing.

His eyes widened as I approached, and he anxiously ran a finger around his collar before greeting me.

‘Shona,’ he said. ‘You look wonderful.’

Well, that was a huge improvement on ‘nice’ , I thought. And he looked absolutely gorgeous to my undeniably biased eyes, in a smart charcoal suit, white shirt and tie.

‘I wasn’t expecting to see you,’ I said. ‘Is Rissa with you?’

‘No. It would have been difficult for her, in the circumstances.’

I knew exactly what he meant, given that Aunt Polly had briefed me on his conversation with Rissa. Max knew all about Brodie now.

‘But you still came,’ I said.

‘I had to come. You did invite me, after all, and I accepted. It would have been rude not to turn up.’

‘Oh, I see.’ Polite and well-mannered as ever then. ‘Well, I hope you have a good time.’

I half-turned, not entirely sure what else I could say, but he caught my hand.

‘Shona, don’t go, please. I have something I want to say to you.’

I closed my eyes briefly, knowing I had something to say to him, too, and really it would be better if I just got it over with.

He might not appreciate the fact that a ghost had been spying on him, and who could blame him for that?

But at least he’d know the truth about his grandfather, and that would mean the world to him. I turned round. ‘I have something?—’

He shook his head. ‘Please. Me first.’

I was surprised. I’d have thought he’d have insisted on allowing me to speak first, so he must have something very important to say.

‘I want to apologise for the way I spoke to you that day,’ he said. ‘I was unforgivably rude. I was so surprised by what you told me that I didn’t know how to react. It’s not every day someone tells you they speak to ghosts, is it?’

‘No,’ I said. ‘It isn’t. And I really do appreciate how hard it was for you to take it all in. We’re so used to it around here that we don’t give it a second thought, but for someone like you, it must seem crazy.’

‘It does,’ he admitted. ‘And I still don’t fully believe it, although Rissa tells me she thinks there might be something in it.

She’s been here longer than I have. She’s heard things.

Anyway, that’s not really the point. The thing is, whether ghosts are real or not, what I’ve come to accept is that my feelings for you are real. ’

‘Max,’ I said, ‘I think?—’

‘Please let me say this,’ he begged. ‘My nerve might fail if I don’t.’

I nodded. ‘Okay. Go ahead.’

He took hold of my hands. ‘I will always love Nina. You know that. But I know there is room for you in my heart, too. It was Rissa who made me realise that. She made me see that it’s okay to move on, and that I shouldn’t feel guilty about it.

Nina would want me to be happy, and I think you can make me happy.

And, after everything you went through with your ex-husband, I want to make you happy, too.

I never want to cause you pain the way he did.

Will you give us the chance to make each other happy, Shona? ’

There was a pleading look in his eyes that made me crumble.

I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him, because frankly, that’s all I’d wanted to do since the moment I’d seen him standing by the door, looking all nervous and irresistibly handsome.

He laughed. ‘Can I take that as a yes?’

‘You certainly can,’ I told him, and kissed him again, just to make sure he knew that I meant it.

‘Shona, you have made me so happy,’ he told me, his eyes shining as he held me to him.

‘Oh, Herr Meyer,’ I said softly. ‘I haven’t even got started yet!’