Kate was so used to the air of authority that her boss always carried with him, consciously but also effortlessly, that the sight of him shorn of it seemed more shocking than it should have been. He looked tired, his shoulders hunched uncomfortably and eyes hooded. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, gesturing at their surroundings. ‘I’ve just managed to get Alice home, so this is about as far as I want to stray from her at the moment.’

‘We can go and have a coffee at your house, if that would be easier.’

‘No, it’s actually a relief to be out of it for half an hour.’ He glanced at his watch, as if to double-check that that was all it was likely to be. ‘There is only so much of the impending tragedy any man can cope with.’ He shook his head. ‘It’s funny, I suppose others might say we’re more acquainted than most with the tenuous and temporary nature of human existence, but even that doesn’t stop you being holed below the waterline.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Everyone is. And it doesn’t make a damned bit of difference.’ Sir Alan gestured at the waiter, who had just arrived at a table opposite. ‘Part of the trouble is that she doesn’t want to go. Neither of us has ever felt much need to consider the possibility of a life hereafter, but now she’s so close to the threshold that seems a bit of an oversight.’

The waiter came. Sir Alan ordered salmon, Kate cod. He asked for a glass of red wine. ‘I can’t remember the last time I drank at lunch,’ he said.

‘I’d order a bottle if I were you.’ Kate looked at him seriously. It had never occurred to her before in how much affection she held him. If he were to step down, she would certainly miss his phlegmatic wisdom and easy temperament, but also the kindness he had displayed after Stuart’s departure for Moscow. She wished there was more she could say or do. ‘If it’s not an impertinent question, how much longer?’

‘Less than two weeks. Our youngest son, John, is coming back from South Africa, so she’s determined to hold on until he makes it.’

‘How heartbreaking.’

‘In all those years together, you never really contemplate what it will be like to say your final farewell. And I can’t quite decide whether this slow, steady route – in which, at least, everyone gets to say goodbye in the way they see fit – is better than an abrupt exit.’

Kate found herself wishing that Stuart was dead rather than divorcing her. But she kept that thought to herself.

‘Were you followed here?’ he asked.

‘Yes. I called Suzy and she didn’t deny it.’