‘But don’t you want this life?’ he asked, waving his hand towards the vast lawn and the private beach in one direction and then back towards the monumental house, designed by Philip Johnson and featured in so many books about masterpieces of American architecture, and the guest house beyond it, in perfect harmony, and the studio, like a high-windowed church, ready to accommodate any artistic impulse, however slight, in a space large enough to work on fifteen Jackson Pollocks simultaneously; not that there was room in the house for any more Jackson Pollocks. Beyond the cluster of buildings was a swimming pool and a tennis court and a driveway that led to two gatehouses occupied by some of the adorable staff of whom it could truly be said that they were part of the family.

‘It’s not the house that’s proposing to me,’ said Lucy, uncontrollably irritated by Nathan’s question. It was traumatic enough to be rejecting someone to whom she had been so close, without being bribed to change her mind. She knew that she wanted to achieve something of her own and not have her ambition crushed by a boa constrictor of complacency. Of course, she was susceptible to the offer of so much security, but she was also deeply suspicious of her susceptibility. Her true enemy was not her lack of security, but her longing for it. There were greater things to strive for than the appeasement of her childhood fears.

‘Thank you,’ she said, accepting the Bloody Mary from the flight attendant.

Her leg ached after the cramp and felt strangely useless. She massaged her thigh while she drank her premature cocktail. There had been a time when she used to have an uncontrollably fluttering eyelid, after spending ten or twelve hours a day in the library, week after week. She didn’t need Martin Carr, Olivia’s dad, to psychoanalyse why the flutter had moved from her eyelid to her leg: she was making too many journeys at once. The shield maiden was leaving the granite harbour of Nathan’s family and setting off on another adventure, but she was out of practice and needed to get back into shape.