‘Lucy, you’ll have to excuse us.’ Francis put a hand on my arm. ‘We seize any opportunity to discredit our oldest friend, I’m afraid. We’re very badly behaved.’

I smiled, loving this sort of banter, and knowing that the opposite was true: that by showing him more than capable of taking any joke that was poked at him, they were revealing him not as the serious-minded academic, but someone who was full of fun and didn’t take himself too seriously. I wondered if Trisha in particular was doing it more deliberately than her husband, showing me his lighter side? If so, I was flattered.

Later, as they were preparing to leave, and I decided I would too – it would surely be odd to linger – Trisha and I found ourselves alone in the kitchen, putting on our jackets. Josh had taken Francis into the sitting room, suddenly remembering a publication by a fellow professor which he’d brought and wanted to show him.

‘It’s been lovely meeting you,’ she told me with real warmth, her eyes sparkling as she retrieved her suede bag from the island.

‘And you too,’ I told her, really meaning it. Trisha was a honey. She lowered her voice.

‘And I can’t tell you what a relief after Agathe.’

‘Oh – no. We’re not – you know …’ I flushed.

‘Oh no, I know.’ She put a hand on my arm. ‘I know you’re not. It’s just, it’s such a blessed relief to meet someone like you, even as – you know—’ She blushed too. ‘A friend.’

I couldn’t help myself. I also lowered my tone. ‘But I mean, surely she can’t have been that bad? They were married for years …’

‘Fourteen. He got married much later than us, and she’s beautiful. But chilly. And he’s not, he’s warm. Trouble is, he’s so easy-going – when you get past his reserve – he gets sidetracked by beautiful women who snare him. He doesn’t see it coming. And of course, they were all no doubt lovely to begin with, everyone is. When they’re trying. Who was it said – “What one loves about love, is the time before they find out what one is like …” Or something like that.’

‘Cedric,’ I told her, rather pleased with myself. ‘In Love in a Cold Climate. My favourite book.’

‘That’s it! I love it too. Well, by the time Josh found out what Agathe was like, it was too late. Mimi, his eldest, was on the way.’

I was loving this. Absolutely gripped. I glanced at the door but we could still hear them chatting. ‘And they’re totally over?’ I whispered, knowing I could: knowing she was absolutely straight, and not the type to say later, with a twinkle: ‘Your new friend was asking all about your marriage …’