Dan put down the mug of coffee on the sideboard and covered his face with his hands. Oh my God, he thought to himself, it’s all been a bloody misunderstanding. I’ve just admitted to sleeping with a woman, and Jackie had absolutely no idea about it.

“Oh, yes,” Jackie continued, “you do that! You cover your face, Dan Porter, because I’ve found you out. And do you know how I did that?” She turned and pulled another piece of paper from the drawer. “Do you know what this is?”

“No, Jackie, I have no idea,” Dan replied resignedly.

“It’s an e-mail from your Debbie bloody Leishman. When I got back from Milan, I went to check my e-mails and of course you know as well as I do what pops up onto the screen when the computer is switched on. Your wretched in-box!” She held the piece of paper up in front of her as if she were about to sing an aria. “Dear Dan, I really don’t know how I can thank you for continuing to be such a wonderful friend.” She read it in a whining American drawl. “Without your support, I could never have afforded to stay off work so long with the baby. He continues to do well, and very soon I shall send you a real long update on how he is progressing and a photograph so that you can see for yourself just how like his daddy he is turning out to be. I still have wonderful memories of that weekend we had up in Maine. Oh, that we could wind back the clock and make it all happen over again. With my love, as always, Debbie.”

She scrumpled up the piece of paper and lobbed it over her shoulder. “So, Dan Porter, you are a father four times over. What a stud you are!”

Dan slowly shook his head. “Are you quite finished?”

Jackie let out a short laugh. “What do you mean, ‘quite finished’? I’m barely started, Dan.”

“The father of that baby, Jackie, was John Fricker, and for your information, he and Debbie were not married. They had, however, been living together for about three months before he was killed in the World Trade Center. And because they weren’t married, Debbie was not eligible for compensation. She was a working girl and she wasn’t dependent on John. She didn’t even know she was pregnant when he died. Anyway, after the baby was born, I took it upon myself to help her in the only way I could.”

Jackie’s mouth was set hard and her eyes narrowed with contempt. It was the first time ever that Dan had seen her look ugly. “So what’s all this about ‘the wonderful weekend that we spent together in Maine’?” Her voice changed once more to the sugary American accent.