'That wasn't what I had in mind.'

She stared at him, breathing noticeably. 'Then why did you bring it up?'

He grimaced. 'I thought it might add some charm to the place. You obviously don't know a lot about Lord Howe, Mrs Hastings.'

'I don't,' she conceded ungraciously. 'I was, in fact, a last-minute replacement for the competent, motherly person they'd found for you-she broke her ankle. So I didn't have a lot of time to add to my rather vague knowledge of Lord Howe, but they did assure me it was extremely beautiful and a-' she hesitated '-photographer's paradise,' she finished on a suddenly weary downbeat.

S. Warwick smiled faintly but said nothing. Davina looked around, clenched her teeth then sat down again. 'All right! Tell me more about the job- not that I've decided to do it,' she warned, 'but…' She gestured and shook her head exasperatedly.

He sat forward again. 'My… female relatives are due to descend on me shortly. They generally spend a holiday on the island at least twice a year. They also generally avoid each other like the plague but are coming together this time, I believe, in a bid to put family relationships on a better footing. If you had any idea what a horrifying prospect that is, Mrs Hastings, I'm sure you would take pity on me.'

Davina blinked. 'I don't understand-and I thought- forgive me,' she said ironically, 'but I got the distinct impression that one word from you and they behaved like perfect lambs.'

'That's not quite true, although they certainly do what I tell them to do-eventually. However, there's one area where even I have trouble controlling them and that is who has sovereignty over the ordering of the household.' Davina, despite herself, found herself smiling a wry little smile. 'I see.' But she added, less amusedly, 'So, you're proposing to throw me into this lionesses' den of dispute?'

'Exactly,' he said without a shadow of remorse, then shrugged. 'Well, what I propose is to make it plain beyond any doubt that you're running the house.'