She didn’t mention Tom, whose idea it had been to give up his damp rented studio flat and pay to live at hers instead. For him, the new arrangement had meant the chance to live in a house that represented a slice of the modernist dream that defined so much of his degree, which would soon, finally, be coming to an end. For her, it was a practical solution that afforded her the option of holding onto the house. Besides, Tom was good company, he was a good man, and it was easier to go along with it than to push back in a way that was bound to have hurt him.

She would wonder later about the things she had and had not told Emsworth that night. The things that might have given him the wrong impression, that might have made what followed – at least this particular segment of events – partly her own fault.

She took a sip of her drink as Emsworth’s phone pinged. Reading the words on the screen, his face dropped. He cursed under his breath, placing the handset back in his pocket, the gold ring flashing on his third finger.

‘Gabriela, I’m so sorry, there’s been a bit of an emergency and I’m afraid I’m going to have to dash back to the office. You stay and finish off your drink and I’ll catch up with you tomorrow, all right?’

He leaned over and squeezed her knee and she had to curb a reflexive desire to kick him.

Watching through the window as he left the pub, rather than heading back to King Charles Street as he said he was going to, she saw him hail a taxi, moving into it, pulling out his phone and placing it to his ear. Glancing over his shoulder, he paused for a moment before talking into the receiver, his face suddenly unrecognisable from the one seated opposite her just moments before. As she necked the last of her drink, the bubbles caught in her throat, causing a tear to form in the corner of her eye.

Lauren was characteristically blasé as she made the offer the following day.

‘The guy who was supposed to be coming in for a month after you has cancelled. So if you wanted to stay on a bit longer …’

‘Wow, I’d love to,’ Gabriela replied.

She paused before emailing Emsworth, unsure of the protocol, then decided that since he would have had to have signed off her extended stay, it would be rude not to acknowledge it.

Opening a new message, she typed: Thank you for offering me an extended placement. I look forward to working with you and the team. Best wishes, Gabriela.

His reply was almost instantaneous. No need to thank me. Good to have you on board. GE.