‘Tell you what,’ Meredith suggested brightly, ‘why don’t I take you on a tour of the château?’

Suzi got out her phone and proceeded to take photos of every room they passed through. Clearly they would be in for a great deal of advice on how to make it more Pinteresting. But it was the bridal suite that attracted her particular attention.

She looked round at the sunlight-filled room with its own round tower, in which Sophie had placed a pretty French bed draped and swagged in simple white muslin.

‘Oh no,’ she pronounced, shaking her head. ‘This is all wrong! That tower is much too poky, and the bed isn’t nearly dramatic enough!’

Meredith glanced behind her, grateful Sophie had pleaded an urgent appointment.

‘You need one of those four-poster beds you can pull the curtains round. When it’s your wedding night you want a bit of fantasy. You might be saying I do to Brian Boring from Burnley, but you have to imagine it’s George Clooney or Jamie Dornan, or maybe David Beckham, except I can’t stand all those horrible tattoos, carrying you into bed and—’

‘Absolutely!’ Meredith decided to close the curtains of the imaginary four-poster with a snap. ‘I have to say, Suzi, you have a very fertile imagination.’

‘Thank you, yes, people do tell me that.’

‘And thank you for your input. I’ll be in touch about the next consultation. Did you bring your car, or would you like me to call you a taxi?’

‘Oh, I’ve got my car, thanks. Is that all you want? I’m bursting with ideas.’

‘No, that’s terrific for today. It’s just an inspiration we’re looking for, then we can go off and see how it fits in with what we’re offering.’

Meredith just hoped Steph and David found a way of reconciling soon before one of them told Suzi the truth about her taste in decorating.

‘How did it go?’ David asked when Suzi got back.

‘Brilliant,’ she replied with a dazzling smile. ‘They loved my stuff! Meredith said it was an inspiration! At last I feel appreciated. All my life I’ve been looking for approval from men and now I realize what I needed was a fulfilling career! In fact, I’d really like to get back to it now. Do you think you could shop and cook today? I really don’t have time now I’m working.’

David experienced a feeling of relief that the focus was no longer so slavishly on him, together with the revelation that Suzi’s real preoccupation was with Suzi. The flattery, the promise of a sexual garden of Eden, even the endless feeding up, had all been part of her determination to get a man – probably any man.

But he wasn’t criticizing her. She was a lonely woman who didn’t want to spend the years ahead on her own.