‘Oh my God,’ said Georgie. ‘I wonder if that’s whose hair it is, in the locket?’ She turned to Hazel.

‘My mother had a locket, Victorian, with this piece of hair inside. We’ve never known whose it was. I’ve got it now, in London I mean.’

‘Likely it could be,’ said Hazel. She smiled at Dawn a little ruefully, aware that she wasn’t a part of this conversation.

‘Wasn’t it rather unusual, then, to have two wives? I mean, unless one of them died in childbirth or something?’ Cass asked.

‘Yes. It would’ve been impossible for Alice to continue her life as it had been. She’d been divorced for adultery, you see. Probably would have made life quite hard for the second wife as well. Did you read The Reason Why, by Cecil Woodham-Smith?’

‘No, I’ve never heard of him,’ said Cass.

The author was a woman, but Hazel did not correct her.

‘Well, it’s mostly about the Charge of the Light Brigade, but it goes into the social context a fair amount. Lord Cardigan, he married a second time and even for a grandee like him, doors were closed. Queen Victoria herself wouldn’t receive them, because he’d divorced the first wife.’ Hazel grinned. ‘Adeline Horsey de Horsey. That was the name of the new wife. She was a character.’

‘She’d have had to be, with a name like that,’ said Dawn.

‘You couldn’t make it up,’ agreed Georgie.

‘OK, let’s eat,’ said Cass.

None of them could face talking about Stephen, that first night. Instead they spoke about their work, their children. Hazel was struck by the apparent similarities between Cass’s daughter Skye and her own niece, Ginny. Cut from the same cloth, by the sound of it. Hazel thought she caught Georgie’s eye at one point and discerned a look of slight impatience, when Skye’s work was mentioned. Then another coincidence emerged: Georgie’s son Jake had done well for himself in a similar field to Hazel’s son, David. By the time the visitors stood up to go, all present felt less wary.

‘I rather like them, don’t you? They’ve got more of a sense of humour than one thought to begin with,’ said Georgie. ‘She’s not stupid, Hazel. Bit pedantic though.’

‘Well, she was a teacher, wasn’t she?’ said Cass. ‘Do you think they’re … you know. A couple?’

‘What, dykes, d’you mean?’ said Georgie.

‘Well, yes.’

‘No! They’re sisters-in-law, for goodness’ sake. Just because they’ve got short hair. Honestly.’

‘She’s nothing like Stephen, is she? You wouldn’t even guess they were related,’ said Cass.

‘I wonder what the other sister looks like? Maybe she’s more like him.’

‘We could ask to see a photo. I bet she’s got pictures of everybody, she’s just the type.’