As he took his eyes away from the window, a strange sight drew them in. The Welsh woman, the conductor, was sitting with her back against the wall, her head drooping forward. It was hard to believe it was the same person who’d been so full of chirp as she ushered them on board. She reminded him of the man outside the Pret at King’s Cross, for whom James bought a sandwich a couple of mornings a week.

He cleared his throat and stooped a little. ‘Excuse me, are you all right?’

The woman looked up, startled. Her make-up looked sallow under the stark perma-lights. She got to her feet, dusting down her trousers. ‘Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t think anyone was awake. No one’s normally awake. The rugby boys are well gone, bless them.’

James looked closely at the conductor. There were pronounced lines under her eyes and the eyes themselves were flecked with red. In this light she looked as if she had been awake for a month. Maybe it messes with your body, James thought. Your body or your brain. To be working these hours. She must be permanently jet-lagged, if she was always on these trains. To reach a hotel bed just as it got light. Get up in the dark.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked again.

She smiled. ‘That’s sweet of you to ask.’

‘Is there anything – can I do anything?’

His question had been instinctive; it took him by surprise, and her answer did, too. ‘You haven’t got a phone, have you? I feel stupid asking. I’ve left it in … I’m in a really stupid situation.’

The phone was still in his hand. James had begun handing it over before he realized.

‘Oh, it’s – you need to take it off flight mode,’ he said. ‘But, um.’

The unseen contents of his inbox welled up inside him and he had to stop himself from burping with a physical effort. It was still not too late to say she couldn’t use the phone after all, but on what grounds? Claim there was no battery? No, it didn’t feel possible. This must be a case of genuine need, or she wouldn’t embarrass herself by asking a passenger. If he could help her, why wouldn’t he? He didn’t have to look at the phone. He handed it over.

‘I’ll just be …’ He gestured towards the toilet.

‘Promise I won’t make off with it.’

‘No, I didn’t think …’ said James.

She had hurried off before he realized that, of course, it had been a joke. Never mind, he thought, pushing down the silver handle to open the toilet door. He flipped the catch to lock it and stood over the low bowl.