‘I’m sorry, Joe,’ she whispered then. ‘I’m very sorry.’

‘Oh, hush now, my love,’ he told her. ‘It’s fine. All is well. And there isn’t any need to be sorry. I’m here. I’m with you and I’ll take care of you.’

‘Dr Morrow says . . . he says . . . he thinks it will be all right. That I can . . . have other children . . . he says there’s no reason. . . .’

Swallow realised that he had not even addressed that question in his own head. It had not seemed to be in any way important when set against the immediate circumstances.

‘You mustn’t worry about that either,’ he told her. ‘If that happens, it will be fine. If it doesn’t, it will be fine too. We have each other, Maria.’

She closed her eyes and smiled for the first time.

‘We have each other,’ she said. ‘We have each other.’

Lafeyre came forward and touched Swallow’s shoulder.

‘I think we should leave Maria to sleep for a while. She’ll rest a lot more peacefully now that she knows you’re here. Sleep and rest are what she needs now in order to build her strength back up.’

They stepped into the corridor outside.

‘How is she?’ Swallow asked. ‘She looks very pale and she seems very weak.’

‘She’ll be fine, Joe,’ Lafeyre told him. ‘She’s weak and she’s tired. That’s very much to be expected. She’s a strong woman, but there’s also the emotional shock of what’s happened. Losing a pregnancy can have all sorts of mental effects on a woman, so what she needs is reassurance, calm and certainty. And of course affection. So that’s your first duty now over the next little while.’

Swallow nodded.

‘I understand, Harry. Thank you for all your care and support. You’re a true friend.’

Lafeyre smiled.

‘You’re not a bad fellow yourself, you know. And you mustn’t start blaming yourself for any of this. It could have happened whether or not you were here or in Berlin or wherever. What’s important now is that you take care of Maria. And that you take care of yourself. If anything happens to you it will hurt Maria and slow her recovery.’

‘How long will she have to stay in hospital?’ Swallow asked.

‘A few more days, maybe a week,’ Lafeyre said. ‘I’d advise that. She’s well looked after here, but when she goes home she’ll have to rest for a long time. She can’t go back to the business straight away. You’ll have to stand firm on that, Joe.’

‘Of course,’ Swallow nodded. ‘Will she need nursing care when she’s home? I could make arrangements.’