The soothing splash of the river was drowned. Threat boomed instead in Helen’s ears as she tensed, then tore herself out of Darcy’s arms.

‘Don’t ask me,’ she mumbled incoherently, ‘don’t need what I can’t give you …’ Almost before she knew what she was doing she had reached out to touch his cheek with the tips of her fingers, then fled away down the mossy, slippery steps to the safety of the island.

‘I’m sorry,’ she heard the desperation in Darcy’s voice. ‘Helen, I won’t …’

‘I know,’ she called back to him. ‘I know. Just let’s … not change things.’

He put his hands on the parapet and pulled himself so far over that she was afraid he would fall.

‘Never?’ he shouted.

‘Oh, please,’ she was almost sobbing now. ‘What do you want?’

Up on the bridge a heavy truck thundered past and Helen thought that she missed his answer. But then it came, in his normal voice, so that she barely heard him.

‘Just to be with you.’

‘You are with me,’ she blurted out. ‘Much more than anybody else. Please, please let that be enough.’

Her key found the lock and the dark vault of the hallway gaped behind her. Darcy seemed to be satisfied. He had half turned away and now a car, travelling very fast, was racing past behind him. He had said something else, Helen was certain. It might have been I love you. But now he was gone, and she hadn’t really heard him after all.

Helen was very tired. She closed the door and climbed wearily up through the close darkness of the house.

Helen went out early the next morning to buy the newspapers. It was a perfect spring morning, with sunlight flashing off the ripples and all the trees visibly misted with pale green. As she came out of the house, an empty pleasure steamer chugged past on its way to the little landing-stage downriver. The rows of seats inside it were freshly white-painted and there was a new striped awning fluttering over them ready for the first tourist river trip of the season.

There was so much light and brightness everywhere that anxiety was impossible. The evening with Darcy had given Helen a restless, dream-filled night but the significance of it all melted away in the brilliance of the morning. They would go on just as they had been doing, making each other undemandingly happy. Everything would be all right.

Helen bought a selection of papers and dawdled back to Follies with them folded under her arm, savouring the anticipation of rave reviews.

Chloe heard her coming back and ran down to peer at the bundle under her arm. ‘Oh good, you’ve got them. Come and have coffee and we’ll gloat together.’