‘Not on your Nellie she didn’t then!’ David said robustly. ‘I know dear Millie very well, and although she was very polite and the perfect hostess, I could tell she had no idea who she was either!’

‘Oh, she was a gate-crasher?’ Trudy asked, not sure why she was so surprised by this turn of events.

‘I don’t see what else she could have been.’ David nodded happily. ‘I had a discreet word here and there, and none of the regular gang were in any hurry to claim her! Of course, Millie refused to be flustered, and simply acted as if everything was fine. But I could tell she wasn’t happy. Especially when the mystery lady monopolised the golden boy.’

‘I know you said they later argued, but at first, did Mr Parker seem pleased to see her – this mystery woman?’ Clement asked next.

‘Not he!’ David bubbled gleefully. ‘He had a face like thunder right from the off! She didn’t stay very long, I’ll give her that. Her brass neck didn’t extend that far. She just had a bit of a drinkie and a few nibbles. Then they sort of circled around each other for a bit, and eventually she approached him, and, like I said, they had this whispery sort of spat and then took it out into the hall for some privacy. I really wish I could have heard what it was they were talking about!’ he added gloomily. Then he suddenly snapped his fingers. ‘Mind you, you might ask our Lady of the Easel – she had a much better vantage point than yours truly. She was sitting quaffing champagne like there was no tomorrow on the sofa, and they were arguing right behind her. If anyone managed to catch anything they said, then Katherine did.’

Trudy nodded, making a note of that. ‘So what happened after the, er, spat?’

‘Oh, they parted again and circulated a bit, pretending nothing had happened, but I noticed them slip off into the hall together not long after, like I said before. I then got a bit distracted by this rather fetching young man who’s up at Wadham, reading English, and when I looked around again, she seemed to have left altogether. He was still there though. Terry didn’t leave until after we’d chanted in the new year and sung dear old Robbie Burns’ little piece.’

Trudy frowned, not getting the reference, and Clement made a mental note to tell her about the origins of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ some time.

‘Did you see Mr Parker actually leave?’ Trudy asked next, without much hope, and was therefore delighted when this seemingly endless font of knowledge once again came up trumps.

‘Actually, I did then!’ David O’Connor said triumphantly. ‘I was just having one last little drinkie on the sofa by the window and saw him walking down the drive towards the cars.’

‘Did he seem intoxicated?’ Trudy asked quickly.