DM brought a sudden end to the lunch party, reminding her guests that some important afternoon commitments now required her attention.

As she shooed us out of the door, she checked that I had remembered to collect my raspberries and redcurrants. I had not done so, so I returned to the scullery to extract the fruit from the tin where they sat amongst DM’s potatoes and bay leaves.

At the back of the house I spotted BB at a desk, poring over a massive ledger covered in gigantic cursive script. Unlike the rest of us, BB was allowed to stay with DM for the rest of the day. This was because she considered him a genius when it came to university finances.