Geoff shook his head and jabbed his finger urgently at the door, pointing and gesturing urgently for Maggie to come with him. Finally, he resorted to pulling her arm.

‘Come on, then!’ Should she fetch a coat? Oh, there was no time.

As they hurried from the room, Norm whistled after them and one of the girls called, ‘Say, where are you two going?’

The music faded away as they raced through the brightly lit Long Gallery.

‘Have you got a torch?’ Maggie asked and in reply Geoff flashed the beam up at the ceiling.

‘It’s W … W-WUDI!’ he managed at last. Maggie’s legs almost buckled beneath her. Rudi? Something had happened to Rudi! It was late, way past his bedtime. What on earth could it be?

The French doors onto the terrace were open, allowing light from the room to spill out. Dozens of moths were flying around. It wasn’t like Geoff to jeopardise the blackout. He must have run in from the garden in a complete panic.

They stepped out into the cold night and Maggie pushed the doors to behind them. For a second, she could see nothing. There was no moon and no sign of Geoff.

Then he was back at her side, pulling on her sleeve. ‘H-hurry,’ he said. ‘W … w … in the w-water.’

Water? Rudi was in the water? In the swimming pool!

It was too dark to see without the torch, so Maggie grabbed Geoff’s arm and urged him forward. The terrace – and then the grass – were iced with frost and slippy. If he’d been walking along the edge of the pool, Rudi could easily have slipped in.

Maggie strained her ears but there were no cries for help. Perhaps Geoff was mistaken? But if Rudi really was in the water, then – she felt sick at the thought – maybe they were already too late.

They reached the edge of the pool. The water was black and still. Maggie pulled Geoff back. He was frantic now, whimpering. She reached up, pulled him towards her by the lapel and grabbed his face in both hands.

‘Listen!’ she yelled. ‘Shine the torch into the water. Help me! Do you hear?’

She felt him nod. He was shivering hard. She let go, tugged off her cardigan – there was no time to remove anything else – pinched her nose and jumped.

The cold was agony. Like a simultaneous electric shock and a punch in the face. It stunned her.

Then she surfaced, spluttering and coughing, already feeling sharp twinges of cramp in her legs. Geoff was doing his best; there were small circles of torchlight on the water’s surface but they only showed waves and ripples. No sign of a child. Maggie trod water. She was already gasping and shaking.

‘Rudi? RUDI!’ She called his name until she was trembling too much to speak.