‘What are you having?’ Madeleine asked as she grabbed a bottle of Chardonnay from the table, eyeing the label disapprovingly before pouring liberally.

‘Whatever,’ Gabriela replied, holding up her glass. The truth was, she didn’t fancy an alcoholic drink at all. What she really wanted was a cup of tea and a bed to lie down in. By some cruel twist of fate, now that Sadie had finally decided to sleep through the night, Gabriela felt worse than ever. Every morning recently she seemed to wake up feeling more worn out than the night before, despite having a full eight hours’ sleep. Some evenings, she found herself bypassing dinner altogether, passing out with her daughter tucked into her chest on the sofa, her body so weak that she thought she might never wake up.

But there was no way she was going to let these guys see that.

‘Gabriela! Would you mind?’

It was Peter Bradford, pulling out the chair next to hers a while later as she took a gulp of her second glass of wine.

‘Not at all! Peter, how lovely to see you again! I thought you were still in Moscow?’ she said with a rush of exhilaration, tinged with discomfort.

‘Oh, you know, taking a little break – thought I’d come and see what’s going on in Blighty. I’ll be back there in a few weeks. Between us, I’m moving into a new role in Human Rights and Democracy. I’ll still be based in Moscow, so I’m just pulling some things together for the department this end before I head back … But enough about me – how are you? I hear there have been some changes since we last met?’

‘Good,’ she said, too quickly, her head still ringing with his words: Human Rights and Democracy. This was exactly where she wanted to be. A department reshuffle meant the possibility of a new opening …

‘So what’s the plan, with the new department?’

She knew it wasn’t the subtle approach preferred by Bradford and his sort, who still favoured clandestine winks and backslaps over brandies in quiet members’ clubs. But he would be going back to Moscow soon, and this might be the only chance she got to impress on him how keen she would be to apply. To remind him how useful she could be.

The sound of Madeleine laughing at something Serena had said drowned out her words and, reaching for the bread basket, Bradford continued, ‘You’ve started a family, haven’t you?’

‘Yes, I have a little girl, Sadie. My partner looks after her …’ she added quickly, desperate to move the conversation back to where it had been, to remind him how capable she was. How deserving of this chance.

‘Wonderful stuff. We have three,’ Bradford replied breezily, taking a mouthful. ‘My advice to you would be quit while you’re ahead. Ha!’