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Arlo smiled yet felt irrationally annoyed before recalling that Ned was his guest and he ought to be polite. He pushed the laptop away. Pongo gave Ned a filthy look and shot into the sitting room.

‘Come inside and shut the door,’ he said as pleasantly as he could. ‘Is everything OK with the Bothy?’

‘Yeah. It’s great … and I won’t keep you, but I hoped to glean some local knowledge from you if you don’t mind. I plan to go fell-walking tomorrow and I was looking for tips for routes suitable for a metropolitan.’ He smiled charmingly, his deep, silky actor’s voice resonating around the kitchen.

Greg had jokingly called Arlo posh because he didn’t have a Cumbrian accent but he didn’t sound as though he was on stage at the RSC either. He’d lived in a lot of places in his life and he thought he sounded … rootless, which figured.

‘You could start with Catbells,’ Arlo said. ‘It’s a good one for a – for someone who’s new to the area.’ He’d almost said novice but didn’t think Ned would appreciate it. ‘The views are great and you can do that one from your door.’

‘Sounds good.’

‘You’ll need strong footwear and be prepared for conditions to change. There could be icy spots up there,’ he added.

Ned smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll put on my best boots and take extra layers and plenty of Kendal Mint Cake. Don’t want the Mountain Rescue guys called out to me.’ He winked.

‘There’s no shame in that,’ Arlo said, but then felt he’d been patronising. ‘I’m sure you won’t but if you’re going solo, make sure you tell someone and leave a time by which you plan to be back as a precaution.’

‘I will.’ He didn’t say whom he’d tell: Arlo or Katie. It was none of Arlo’s business.

‘Actually,’ Ned said, ‘while Catbells sounds exciting, I had been thinking of heading to a cave I’ve been reading about. The one that the adventurer lived in? Millican Dalton? I’ve been reading about him and he had an incredible life trying to be alternative and sustainable long before it was fashionable. In fact, I’m writing a screenplay about him.’

‘You’re going to Dalton’s cave?’ Arlo hesitated as an image of the dark quarried cave, halfway up the crag side, loomed at the forefront of his mind. It yawned like a giant mouth waiting to swallow him up. He clenched his fingers under the table and tried to tame his galloping heartbeat.

‘Yeah. That quirky hermit-type guy. He lived in it from the nineteen twenties onwards. You must know it,’ Ned went on, his voice sounding as if it came from miles away. ‘It’s very near here, isn’t it?’

Arlo shook himself back into the moment. ‘Depends what you call very near,’ he murmured. ‘It’s halfway up Castle Crag, which would be a twelve-mile round trip from the Bothy, though you can park in Rosthwaite … but the forecast is icy tomorrow. You’d need to take care.’

‘Thanks for the tip,’ Ned said, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. Arlo knew he’d be heading to the cave no matter what Arlo said. And why not? Arlo reasoned. Ned was only his own age and seemed fit enough. The cave wasn’t considered dangerous so Arlo decided not to add any more warnings at the risk of sounding like an old fart or betraying himself further.

Ned leaned against the worktop and Arlo wasn’t sure whether he ought to offer him a coffee but didn’t want his hands to shake as he made it. His gaze swept over the kitchen with its Aga and beams. ‘Nice old place you have. I presume it was built for people who worked at the Island House?’

‘It was the gardener’s house,’ Arlo said, feeling his heart rate return to normal. ‘And the Bothy was for the undergardener.’

‘How the other half lived.’ Ned returned his focus to Arlo. ‘Don’t you stay overnight at the Island House sometimes?’

‘Occasionally. The housekeeper also uses the studio flat if there’s a big party and she wants to be on site.’

He nodded. ‘Hmm. I heard you stayed there on Katie’s first night.’

Arlo flinched. He hadn’t seen that one coming. How had Ned found that out? Had Katie told him or one of her friends? Arlo didn’t want to admit that Katie had asked him to stay. He sensed it would create all kinds of trouble. ‘It was the most practical solution at the time.’

Ned nodded. ‘Because she was on her own?’

‘We discussed the situation and we agreed I should stay,’ Arlo said, annoyed that he’d been manoeuvred into a position of revealing information that Ned had no right to know and he had no right to share. He wasn’t going to say any more, that was for sure.

Ned heaved a sigh. ‘Look, Katie won’t thank me for this but I thought you should know a bit more about her. About what happened to her …’ Ned’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘Unless she’s told you, which is unlikely because she doesn’t like to talk about the accident she had.’

Was Ned testing him? Testing Katie? Arlo’s irritation ramped up. This Ned seemed pretty territorial to him, especially where Katie was concerned.

‘I tend not to make a habit of prying into my guests’ personal lives.’

‘No, of course not,’ Ned said, smooth as butter. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound spiky. It’s just that I do worry about Katie. I care about her and this trip – well, it seemed a bit impulsive.’

Not as impulsive as Ned accepting Wanda’s invitation without checking with Katie, Arlo thought before reminding himself that the situation was none of his business.

He allowed Ned to fill the silence and fortunately Ned had plenty to say. ‘And Katie has been through a lot. A hell of a lot. She’d never admit it to anyone but her closest friends but she was badly injured in an accident and came this close to not getting out at all.’ He held up his closed thumb and forefinger.

‘I’m – sorry to hear it,’ was all Arlo could manage, recalling Katie’s nighttime screams. He’d known she was injured and probably had PTSD but not that she’d been that close to death. The tremor in his fingers threatened again.