Maud got into the back. I climbed into the driver’s seat and shut the door, but I could still hear them murmuring to each other. I lit a cigarette and let the match burn down until it reached the tip of my finger, then shook it out quickly, wound down my window and dropped it onto the grass.

‘Are you two still going?’ I said.

They laughed. Freddie released Sylvie and she climbed into the car. ‘Are you driving me home?’ she asked.

‘There are spare bedrooms at our house,’ I said.

‘Aha,’ Freddie said, hooking his hands over the top of the window and leaning into the car. ‘Nefarious intentions – I knew it.’

‘Thank you for dinner,’ I said, winding up the window again. He slid his fingers off just in time, grinning at me through the glass.

‘Take care, both of you,’ he said, raising his voice. ‘You know what Joseph Parry says – Make new friends, but keep the old; those are silver, these are gold.’

‘And we’re the old friends?’

‘Old and very dear. Especially Maud – I hope we see a lot more of you now.’

‘Thank you for having me,’ she said, tightly.

‘Any time. Now – hosting duties call.’ He flexed his shoulders, like a moving Greek statue. ‘Come back soon.’

He headed for the house but his smell lingered, peppery and masculine, and the wave of self-pity that had been threatening since we’d arrived suddenly came crashing down on me.

‘I should go home,’ Sylvie said, tucking her hair behind her ear. ‘Would you like me to drive?’

‘I can do it. Some other time for the sleepover then?’

‘Perhaps.’

I ground the gears and we bounced off.

Chapter Sixteen

Sylvie wrote to me after the party, confirming our lunch. I showed it to Lucy.

‘You’ll love her,’ I said.

‘Will she love me?’

‘Of course she will.’

‘What should I wear?’

I kissed her nose. ‘You look beautiful in everything.’

I drove her up early on the Saturday. She was wearing a bright yellow dress that ended just below her knees, and white gloves.

‘How do I look?’ she asked me anxiously.

‘Lovely,’ I said. ‘Like springtime.’

‘Good.’ She smiled. ‘I didn’t ask – how was your party last week?’

‘Very political. I mostly stayed out of it.’

‘My parents are always talking politics. I can tell they wish I was more interested.’

I looked across at her. ‘You wouldn’t throw big dinner parties where everyone was debating all night?’

‘No,’ she said, smiling. ‘When I marry I’m going to spend all my time warming my husband’s slippers by the fire, and making him drinks and bringing him the papers.’

I took one hand off the steering wheel, caught her hand and kissed it. ‘Your husband’s going to be a well-informed drunkard then.’