A cheer went up as he crossed the threshold, and a pint of Carter’s Gold was thrust into his hand in moments. He took a sip quickly, as his mouth had gone suddenly dry as he caught sight of Holly standing with Rachel at the bar. She was waiting for another drink, her long red hair distinctive in the crowd of punters that thronged around the pub. Negotiating his way carefully towards her, pint in hand, his knees started to tremble more violently than they had in the chamber. Winning Holly’s stamp of approval was even more important now than ever before.

As he drew nearer, she turned in his direction, and, visibly surprised he should appear so swiftly in the pub, having only been on screen a few hours ago, she put her glass back down on the bar.

‘Hey,’ she said softly as he drew a little closer to her. The crowd parted slightly to let him through, and Charlie noticed quite a few glances in their direction.

‘Hey,’ he replied. The pause, the long list of things not yet spoken, hung in the air between them. It was as if both were just trying to reconnect to the reality of being in the same room after an emotionally charged day.

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ Rachel, relaxed after a few glasses of wine, butted in between them and gave Charlie a huge hug. ‘She’s obviously incapable of speech, or starstruck or something, but I’m not. Well done. You did brilliantly.’

‘Thank you,’ Charlie said, glancing from Holly, who was still quiet, to Rachel. ‘That means a lot to me from you, of all people. I hope I’ve done something that will, actually, help this time.’

‘Whatever happens over the next few weeks, you can be sure you’ve done your best,’ Rachel replied. She glanced at her watch. ‘I’d better get going, now you’ve come to walk my sister home – Mum and Dad picked up Harry from nursery so I could stay a bit longer and celebrate, but much as I’ve enjoyed it, I wouldn’t wish Harry’s bedtime routine on them.’

‘Is it complicated?’ Charlie asked, imagining a rigmarole of drugs and inhalers.

Rachel laughed. ‘The medications are the least of my worries! It’s wrestling him into bed that’s the problem – he gets a second wind at about six thirty.’

Charlie joined in the laughter. ‘I’ll have to come and help out sometime.’

‘I think he’d like that.’ Rachel turned to Holly, ‘I’m just going to pop to the loo. Can you keep an eye on my bag?’

‘Sure,’ Holly replied as Rachel wandered off.

Turning his attention back to Holly, Charlie’s heart flipped again. ‘Was it OK?’ he asked, feeling like a teenager seeking approval.

Holly shook her head. ‘No. It wasn’t.’