But this glimpse of Georgie had thrown him. It was like taking off your sunglasses on a bright day: he felt dazzled. He tried to bat it off by thinking of the things he didn’t really like about her: the way she teased her sister, the annoying habit she had of calling attention to herself, the trace of a moustache across her upper lip. She was quite bossy. She treated Helena as a sort of glorified handmaiden; not even glorified, in actual fact. And yet her breasts as pale and plump as a seagull, the darkness at her groin; the way she’d lifted her arms and held them out, for balance, so she wouldn’t lose her footing on the slippery river-pebbles … Even the thought of her toes in the cold water, curling over to keep her grip, made him catch his breath. He didn’t want to be thinking about her, but it was like being tugged by a current under the water, a current you couldn’t swim against.

On Helena’s last evening, at dinner, Celia suddenly challenged him: ‘I keep meaning to ask you, how is it that you’re related to us?’

Stephen didn’t get it. During the conversation he’d had with her about the medals on the top landing she’d known full well how they were related. Why was she saying she’d forgotten, now?

‘It’s through the medal guy,’ he told her. ‘Gale. He was my dad’s great-grandfather. I’m pretty sure that’s what my mum said.’

‘But your name’s Nolan,’ said Celia.

‘Well, our name’s Clarke and the VC hero wasn’t called that, was he? Anyway, Stephen’s mother wrote to you ages ago, explaining it all. Remember?’ Nick joined in.

‘He was called Gale,’ said Celia, ignoring Nick.

‘Stephen just said that, Mum,’ said Georgie. Celia ignored her.

‘William Gale. That’s why Mummy had it as her middle name. She was going to make it my middle name too, but she said it was such a nuisance that people always got it wrong. You know, filling out forms, passport applications. As in Gail the girl’s name.’

‘Oh, do regale us with the lost glories of your family tree,’ said Nick. ‘It must be at least a fortnight since you last told us about them.’

‘Well, at least I had a family. People who were quelqu’un. Not just civil servants from Solihull, or wherever your people sprang from,’ said Celia.

Nick put his head in his hands. ‘Shropshire. You know bloody well it’s Shropshire.’

‘You did all right, thanks to my family,’ Celia persisted. ‘I didn’t see your lot put anything into this house.’

‘You should have married a landowner, is that what you mean?’ asked Nick.

‘Did you have anyone in particular in mind?’ asked Celia.

‘Guys!’ said Georgie. ‘It’s Helena’s last night. We’re meant to be having fun.’