With the air of a man bestowing a huge privilege, Masefield himself took them to the airport. They were flying standby and seats had materialised at short notice, so he drove with rapid and unwavering determination, just like he did everything else. Kim hung on to his arm all the way, as possessive as a child with a toy.

Their flight was already being called when they reached the airport and their goodbyes were brief.

‘Work hard,’ Masefield ordered his daughter. ‘Any ideas yet about what you want to do when you finish?’

‘I want to act,’ Pansy said in a low voice.

‘You do? I’ll call Tony Prescott. It’s not one of my companies, but he owes me a favour.’

‘No.’ Her voice was suddenly sharp, but she modulated it at once and smiled sweetly. ‘Let me finish my course first. One thing at a time.’

‘Quite right. Goodbye, both of you.’ He planted identical kisses on Chloe’s and Helen’s cheeks. A glance showed him that Kim was twirling a rack of glossy magazines. Helen had turned away, but she heard him say, ‘You won’t change your mind about London?’

‘No,’ Chloe said, cool-voiced. ‘But thanks.’

Helen hurried away towards the barrier.

When they looked back to wave, Masefield and Kim were standing side by side. They made an arresting couple, the heavy, powerful-looking man and his pretty young wife.

Within an hour they were over the Italian Alps. Helen peered down at the jagged snowy peaks and turned quickly back to Chloe sitting beside her. Across the aisle Pansy was apparently fast asleep. She insisted that it was the only way to deal with aeroplanes.

‘Enjoy your holiday?’ Chloe asked.

‘Mmm. Everything seems almost too good to be true,’ she said with a long sigh. ‘Venice, and Darcy.’ Helen hesitated, then decided she could surely tell Chloe about something that had nibbled continuously at the edges of her mind.

‘A funny thing happened. The night after Darcy’s telegram, I had a wildly sexy dream. About Tom. I blush to think about it now.’

‘Why ever should you?’ Chloe chuckled. ‘It sounds to me like a classic case of anxiety at the sudden closing of options. Explore the possibilities in dreams instead.’

‘You think that’s all?’

‘Of course. You don’t think that deep down you’re really madly in love with Tom Hart, do you?’

‘No,’ Helen said quickly.

‘Well then, that’s okay, isn’t it?’

Was it okay? Helen asked herself. She was disturbed to find that there was no answer.

‘Did you enjoy your holiday?’ Helen countered. It occurred to her that Chloe was looking her old self again, sleek and tawny as a tiger. The drawn look and pain-filled eyes were almost completely gone.