More than anything

Well, then. Greta blinks, not having braced herself for outright denial. It’s flattering, in a way, but it’s one thing to argue that losing isn’t the worst thing and another to argue that it happened at all.

So she pats her lap invitingly, hoping she can coax Saoirse over for a brief cuddle before they eat, and gives Thomas a slightly hapless look. “It was a very tough challenge,” she explains. “I don’t think any of us did our best work. But they had to send someone home at the end, and they picked me.”

“It’s not all bad, though,” she adds bracingly. “It means things can start going back to normal, and we can spend more time reading or playing games. I’m rather glad of that, to be honest.”