Holly, also known as #GreenGoddess had a fair few results; mostly of her decked out with ribbons and waving a placard about at that afternoon’s demonstration. Slightly more worryingly, though, when he searched for his own name on the social media platform, a few, less complimentary hashtags were attached. Among the more embarrassing included #WestCountryCad and #WhatACharlie. He felt physically sick when he saw some of the comments, too. If the story was playing out the way Peter Eddington had suggested, he’d get a reputation as a calculating predator before the week was out.

Swiping the iPad’s screen angrily, he packed away his things and headed for the flat. Another sleepless night, then another uncomfortable day beckoned before he could regroup with Tom and work out the best approach to this mess. At the moment, he just didn’t know which way to jump, although throwing himself off Westminster Bridge seemed a decent prospect right now. Hurrying out of the building and heading for Farringdon on the Tube, he hoped he’d get home without being stopped.

The next morning, bleary-eyed from insomnia, Charlie virtually sleepwalked to the Tube. He’d finally put the iPad down at about 3 a.m., after reading pretty much every link on social media that might throw some light on when the story about him and Holly had broken. He was still none the wiser about who had leaked it. Swiping wearily to the AllFeed website as the Tube pulled out, there it was in all its glory in the sidebar of shame on the right-hand side of the page.

‘She just wanted to help her nephew: what he asked for in return will blow your mind!’

Below it were a couple of blurred photographs of himself and Holly during their picnic on Willowbury Hill. The angle of the photos suggested things had been a lot more intimate in that moment than they actually had been, and Charlie couldn’t help groaning when he saw them. An old lady sitting next to him shuffled away in surprise.

It was worse when he clicked the link. Several pictures, obviously snapped with a long lens at Willowfest, showed the two of them in various lovelorn poses. The copy was worse still.

Charlie Thorpe is believed to have seduced health and well-being shop owner and CF campaigner Holly Renton in return for promising her his support over the legislation of new drugs for the chronic condition, cystic fibrosis. Vulnerable Holly’s tragic thee-year-old nephew Harry is a sufferer of the condition, which may dramatically shorten his life if he does not gain access to these life-altering medications. After initially pledging his support, Thorpe has since withdrawn from the campaign, according to sources close to Ms Renton, and seeks instead to pursue promotion in other areas, leaving lovelorn Holly and tragic Harry high and dry.