Dermot walked up to Shona, took her in his arms and kissed her fiercely, pinning her against the wall. She just stood there for a moment, not reacting at all, her arms hanging limply by her sides and still holding her papers; but then Dermot felt her almost lose her footing as her knees went weak, and he held her more tightly, almost picking up her slight frame as her lips softened against his.

‘Dermot, please,’ Shona said quietly. ‘Someone might walk in any moment.’

Dermot let her go, and reached forward and smoothed a strand of her hair back. ‘I know you feel something for me,’ he said. ‘I can’t go through the holidays not seeing you.’

‘Maybe it’s better just to leave it,’ Shona said, leaning back against the wall, as though her treacherous legs still couldn’t quite support her, looking down at the scuffed wooden floorboards. ‘I don’t know how we’d manage it.’

‘I do,’ said Dermot. ‘I’ve been thinking about it.’ He put his palm to Shona’s cheek, and was gratified to see that she turned her face towards it. ‘Shona, please look at me,’ he asked. Shona looked into his eyes, and he looked back into hers, chocolate-brown with flecks of gold, dark liquid eyes sparkling with depth. ‘I could give you driving lessons over the holidays, and you could repay me by giving me some French instruction. No one would think anything of it - it would just be two colleagues helping each other out.’

‘Let me think about it,’ Shona said after a long pause. Dermot looked into her eyes again, and unthinkingly leaned in towards her. ‘You’re getting too close,’ she said, half holding her breath.

‘You’ve got too close already,’ Dermot answered, his lips almost brushing hers. The turn of the squeaky brass knob made them both jump, and Shona dashed sideways into the cloakroom, leaving Dermot leaning awkwardly against the wall.

‘Dermot, are you all right, dear?’ Jane asked with concern, wondering what her head of languages was doing.

‘Not quite,’ Dermot answered truthfully. ‘I think I’ve got a bit of a funny head. I’ll be fine in a bit.’