It was two in the morning when they finally left the club and walked home through streets that were silent except for the sound of an occasional car as it splattered through the rain. Camilla recommended a nightcap that consisted of aspirins and several glasses of water, and Sarah fell into bed in a stupor from which she did not waken until almost noon. When she finally stumbled into the kitchen she found Camilla, dressed in a pair of frayed jeans and a blue voile shirt that clearly showed her breasts and the fact that she was not wearing anything underneath. She had wound a printed scarf around her head so that it resembled a turban and her face was smeared with white paste that she said was some kind of moisturising mask.

‘Here’s coffee, and there’s fruit and yogurt and fresh bread. You’ll have to stay in all afternoon,’ she remarked with mischief in her eyes. ‘I’ve got a photo session at three. So you’ll be the solo welcoming committee for Piet.’

‘No! Oh no, I can’t!’ Sarah said. Panic filled her, and her throat was dry with fright so that she choked on her mouthful of coffee. ‘You can’t leave me here to meet him. Alone.’

‘Sounds like a dream opportunity.’

‘No. I need to see him with other people around, so I can get used to him again. I can’t meet him alone. I don’t know what I could even say to him.’

‘Don’t say anything,’ Camilla said. ‘Just fling your arms around him, kiss him on the mouth and drag him down on to the sofa. That should do it.’

‘Don’t laugh at me. I need time, and some sympathy. I don’t know what to do.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake, Sarah. You sound like you’re still some fawning teenager in a convent. You’re a fabulous, grown woman ready to seduce a grown man. Eve and Adam. Just do it.’

‘I need time, and—’

‘You’ve got time. You’ve got a whole Bank Holiday weekend with him. There’s no point in wasting a moment of it. Just look alluring and beautiful. And gaze up at him like he’s God.’

‘But I’m not beautiful.’

‘Yes, you are. The Irish weather has turned your complexion into something enviable, and you look great in your new finery. Besides, he’s just a simple farmer – an escaped hayseed. Now let’s roll up your hair and choose something for you to wear. Then all you have to do is sweat it out till he gets here.’