Lonely, unmarried, middle- aged landowner Hester takes in teenage orphan Katherine to help her on her farm and soon the girl becomes the centre of her world.

They cook, sew, read and laugh together, Hester jealously guarding the young woman from the outside world. But driving home one night after a party, Katherine hits a man and Hester, terrified of the consequences, throws his body down a dried-up well.

The well, a metaphor for the older woman’s suppressed passions, threatens to reveal their secrets and both spin out of control in a dark, gothic unravelling that is profoundly disturbing sexually and spiritually – and the ending leaves many unanswered questions.

The casual cruelty of the adults in this book is evoked with such clinical, psychological precision that it pierces your heart.

Beautiful, spoiled, venal Honey entices Roland away from his wife and son, but when Roland’s ex-wife dies, the scholarly, teenage Brian comes to live with them.

Terrified her sexual power is waning, Honey determines to seduce the boy while she and Roland fritter his inheritance, of which he is unaware.

When a devoted school-friend envelops him in his welcoming family the tables turn, and this deliciously dry tale of amoral love triangles exposes the fragility of lust, greed and ageing but also the redemptive power of love.

Perhaps best known for her award-winning children’s books, Ibbotson’s wry, sly humour is nevertheless perfectly suited to short stories focusing on love affairs, secrets, lies, hopes and heartbreak. She often uses pre-war Vienna as a backdrop, as in the title story which shines a witty light on the pragmatism of a sexless marriage while Christmas Angel, recounting a child’s loss of innocence, will resonate with every parent.

A Rose In Amazonia reunites separated lovers while the hilarious twist in the tail of A Little Disagreement is totally unforeseen.

Like a tray of canapes served with chilled champagne, these stories should be savoured slowly, bite by bite.