BOOK 3

Her mother-in-law was different in every way from her own quietly traditional mother. But it didn't matter. In no time at all the two of them had developed a mutual and very real affection.

Once Mairead left, the basement felt even quieter and emptier than it had before. Deeply involved in his new venture. Brand still had little time left over for his wife.

Often she visited Judy, who had started to teach her cooking as well as English, but she couldn't spend all her time upstairs. Judy had a baby, a family and her own circle of friends. Isabella, used to being surrounded by people, often found her own company desperately hard to endure.

Then one day she bumped into Gary in the narrow passage between their doors.

'Haven't seen much of Brand lately,' he remarked.

'No. He's been very busy,' she agreed. 'I haven't seen much of him either.'

After that, Gary began to appear at her door almost every day on one pretext or another. When Isabella found herself looking forward to his visits she