‘Yes, for good. He finished it, eventually. Even though she started it, leaving him for his best friend. She decided she wanted him back – quite recently when he went back to see his kids – but he said no. There was no love there. No warmth. And to be fair, I don’t think she was capable of loving him any more than she did. That’s just the way she was, and he realized it. He also realized it wasn’t enough. Not for the rest of his life.’

‘Right. Is she devastated?’

‘Not at all. She’s not like that. She gave a Gallic shrug, apparently, as Josh nonetheless wept, and went off to the market on the Left Bank, which she always does on a Saturday.’

‘And his girls?’

‘Well, obviously, that kills him. But Agathe’s not a bitch. She said he can have them as much as he likes, which is why they then went skiing. It will probably suit her, actually, this arrangement, in a way. She’s quite selfish. I can easily imagine her saying – oh, have them for six weeks over the summer.’ We heard footsteps. Trisha straightened up. ‘So if your parents do decide to take the plunge and want some help with their new garden, I’d be more than happy to take a look.’

‘I think they might,’ I agreed, snapping to. ‘They’ve done all they can inside, it’s only a matter of time before they’re planning the outside.’

‘Touting for business again?’ Francis mock-staggered into the room. He put an arm around his wife’s shoulders and squeezed her tight.

‘Shameless,’ muttered Josh, shaking his head.

‘Absolutely not!’ Trisha said indignantly. ‘I was merely telling Lucy that if she sent me a photo of her parents’ patch—’

‘Yeah, yeah, we believe you.’

And thus, in a convivial fashion, we all made our way down the hall, to the front door. We said the most cheery of farewells, all telling our host we’d had the best time – oh, and to be sure to tell Tilly the food had been delicious. His eyes lingered enquiringly on mine as we kissed goodbye, though, and I saw Trisha look away quickly with a smile. She hurried down the steps, taking her husband’s arm to propel him with her.

‘It was lovely to see you,’ he told me softly.

‘And you too,’ I agreed quietly. Our eyes met for a moment longer, and then I followed the aptly named Goodfellows down the steps to the street. We set off in opposite directions. I didn’t look back, but I was sure Josh waited until I was around the corner before he shut the door. In fact, I know he did, because once again, I heard that familiar loud click as it shut.

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