Starting to sob, she ran into the room and in half a minute threw all her things back into the bag. When she came out again Olivia was still standing in the same place, watching stony-faced as Anna ran downstairs. She pulled open the heavy front door and ran out towards her car, only just able to see through her tears.

The light was still on in the attic above Jake’s shop. Standing outside in the deserted street, Anna realized she didn’t know how to get in. There were two floors of the dark shop below, and it was as if he was out of contact with the street, high up there. She went to the door and looked for a bell. There wasn’t one. Instead she tried the letterbox, which was fortunately well sprung and gave a resounding clap when she released the flap.

She waited. Outwardly, now, she was more composed, had had to control herself in order to drive. But she could feel a tight bubble of emotion inside her, only just held in. She could not have gone back to be alone in Kate’s house tonight.

There were sounds from inside and she saw movement behind the glass door. He left the light off, cautious perhaps, and she could just see the washed-out blue of his jeans as he came to the door. It opened, brushing the mat. She felt she’d never been so relieved to see anyone.

‘Anna?’ She couldn’t make out the tone of his voice. Surprised, certainly, but she thought she noticed in it a degree of pleasure, relief almost.

‘I need to talk to you.’

‘Yeah – of course.’ He hesitated, not wanting to presume anything. ‘It’s too late for the pubs isn’t it? Will you come in?’

‘Here’s fine.’ She hadn’t meant to sound so abrupt. As well as holding back her emotion over Olivia and Krish, she suddenly wanted Jake to hold her, and that wasn’t appropriate, wasn’t why she’d come.

Jake led her up through the dark shop with its comforting smell of wood polish, past the dark shapes of the furniture. Following, she thought how odd it was that she was here alone with him, somehow suddenly the closest person to her now apart from Roland. Their feet sounded loud on the bare staircase up to his attic.

When they reached the flat she forgot everything for a few moments, exclaiming, ‘Jake, it’s lovely up here!’

‘I’m glad you like it.’ He smiled. ‘Only thing is, you have to go down to the next floor for the bathroom. I’m working on that. Might get a shower put in. But otherwise it does me fine.’

The room was lit only by the sidelight next to the bed, where Jake had evidently been lying. It was a long room stretching across the building, with a gabled window at each end. At the back Jake had his kitchen. The bed was at the front under the window. Music was playing softly in the background, the deep, rich sound of a stringed instrument.