‘Who?’ Steph sounded genuinely puzzled. ‘Not you lot, obviously, or you’d have said.’ She racked her brains for David’s friends and acquaintances, but couldn’t think of anyone. She was the one who made all the new friends.

The awful thought suddenly broke into her consciousness like a stalactite being stabbed through her brain. ‘Not . . . the woman he’s been seeing? I knew there had to be someone. Oh God, the silly sod. Who is she? Not some teenager, I hope.’

Meredith felt Steph’s eyes bore into her as she waited for the answer.

‘I gather she’s one of the ladies from the Bratenac Luncheon Club; you know, Jackie’s lot from the cafe.’

‘Oh, perfect. My fucking husband leaves and moves in with a crony of the biggest gossip in Bratenac!’

‘Did he leave?’ Meredith asked gently.

‘You mean, did he jump or was he pushed? Does it really matter? He betrayed my trust – not just with this woman, but about our livelihood.’ Steph turned away towards the river in case too much emotion was showing on her face.

Meredith waited a moment, thinking how best to handle the situation. Steph was proud and her pride was stopping her from confiding, which had the effect of leaving her alone and scared. Somehow Meredith needed to break through that pride and offer her support.

‘Steph, you know we love you. We’ve all known each other so long and life has done different things to all of us. But the one thing that’s helped is having each other. Why don’t you just tell me about it from the beginning?’ She glanced round to make sure they were alone. ‘Go and sit over there in the shade. I’m going to get us a bottle of wine. I’ll be right back. All right?’

When she got back Steph was staring straight ahead. ‘I was sitting at this table with David only about twenty-four hours ago,’ she announced bleakly, sounding almost as if he had died rather than left.

‘Are you missing him?’

‘Yes. I’m missing him. I woke up missing him, having his body next to me, and I missed him all morning. The house seemed empty even though Marcelline and a couple of guests were here. I missed him at lunch when I ate alone, and I’m missing him now.’ She looked Meredith in the eye. ‘Is that enough of an answer?’

‘Yes, Stephie,’ Meredith replied, keeping the emotion out of her voice, because she could sense sympathy was the last thing her friend wanted at the moment, ‘that’s enough of an answer.’

‘I suppose it started when I told him a week or two ago that bookings were down in the summer and he wildly overreacted.’

‘You hadn’t noticed anything before then?’ Meredith was thinking that the encounter she’d interrupted on the riverbank was longer ago than a week or two.