“Very well.” He put it on the table, beside the file, and beckoned to a waiter.

“I understand you’re no longer at Cherry Trees.”

“Tea, for the lady, and a whisky.”

The waiter nodded.

“When did you move?” said Enid.

“I assumed you’d wish to sell.”

“I bought it.”

“And you shall have the proceeds.” The change suited him. He had a steady handsomeness which only came with age.

She said, “How long will it take?” A floral tea pot and plate of sandwiches arrived.

Douglas poured. “A month at most. I’ll have the furniture put in storage, if you like.”

“And the children?” She put two sandwiches on her plate.

“Do you wish for them to be put in storage too?”

She took a bite – thin ham, butter, fine slices of white bread. She chewed quickly and chased it down with a sip of tea. “I assume you’ve proper help for Fagus?”

Douglas lit a cigarette. “He’s at school.”

“School?”

“I just thought—”

“Which?”

“Which school? Castlemere. It’s in Shoreham, run by a Miss Barnes. Your sister found it.” He stopped and started again. “His mind’s as sharp as anything, you know, within reason. I didn’t see why he should be chained in some sanatorium when his brain’s perfectly good. He’s learning French. They keep him there, all year round, as it were. Miss Barnes runs it as a boarding house during the holidays. Quite a few of the boys stay on. It really was the best I could do.”

She sat back and took in the confines of the room, the scattered groups of ladies leaning forward over dainties, the uncomfortable men in suits; the everyday comfort of a life lived normally.

Douglas ran his hand through his hair. He was greying at the temples. “You must know you left me little choice.”

She got up and went to the powder room where she stared in the mirror at her ageing skin. When she returned to the table, Douglas’ glass was full again. The ice clinked as he raised it. “And what are your plans?”

“I’d like to settle somewhere near you, so as to be near Ian and Finetta, you understand—” There. She’d said their names out loud. They were real. “I hear you’re in Hertfordshire.”

“You’ve seen Joan?”

“I had the pleasure of breakfasting with her on Saturday. She told me as little as possible.”

“Where were you?”

“Where was I?”

“I mean, where did you breakfast?”

“At Bryanston Square, of course. I was forced there when I discovered the chain on the gates at Cherry Trees. I arrived on Friday night.”

“And you had breakfast with Joan?”