‘You are finished?’ he asked, pointing to the suitcase. I assumed he was going to hide our bags somewhere, the car perhaps, so that it would not seem suspicious.

‘Yes,’ I said, retrieving the precious passport and sliding it into a side pocket. ‘But I don’t have the key.’

Bouzid came forwards and closed the lid, picked up the case. ‘Mr Langham has the key. He will lock it now. Shall I take your suit up to the dressing room, too?’

He had unhooked the suit before I could answer. Why did it make me so anxious, to see my possessions being borne away?

‘Bouzid!’ I called. He turned around. I wanted to ask how long it would be before I saw him again after tonight, what he would do while Langham and I were away, but I couldn’t.

His face flickered. ‘He is waiting for you,’ he said.

I met Hilde coming out of Langham’s room. She was carrying a curling iron.

‘He’s done,’ she said, and tried to smile. ‘You should have heard him fussing over his hair. Vain as a debutante.’

For a long moment we just looked at each other. Then, we stepped forwards and held each other tight.

‘I’m frightened,’ she whispered in my ear. ‘I’ve never seen him like this before. What if …’ She pulled back. ‘What if it goes wrong? I couldn’t bear it.’

‘It will be fine.’ I told her what we both wanted to believe. ‘You’ll see. We’ll be back in a month or two, maybe sooner if things have calmed down.’

‘And what if they don’t?’ She was too clever for my placating words. ‘What if you can’t come back?’

‘Then we’ll send for you,’ I said, putting my hand to her cheek. ‘We’ll send word and you can lock up the house and join us, and we’ll sun ourselves on a yacht in Algeria, or take tea in Ceylon.’

She tried to laugh, but it was more of a ragged breath. ‘You sound like him,’ she said. As I stepped away, she held on to my sleeve. ‘Please, Alejandro,’ she whispered.

Langham stood at the window of his room, looking out. Beyond him, the water of the strait was pearl violet with evening. I stared at the back of his head, wanting to fix it in my mind like a painting, a moment I could always return to.

When he turned, and met my eyes, I knew he was thinking the same.

‘Well?’ he said, raising his hands towards his hair. ‘I think it is ridiculous, but Hilde says it will serve.’