‘Buying her dinner and a ride on the roundabouts. I delivered a present to her, to celebrate her engagement to your brother, and she is thanking me with an evening of her company. Does that satisfy your curiosity?’

Thank you, Tom, Helen said silently. Thank you for your tact and sensitivity.

Oliver had forgotten his question. He thrust his arms through theirs and said, ‘Good job you’ve turned up. Gerry and I’ve lost the car somewhere. We’d’ve had to walk back.’

‘Do you good,’ Tom muttered, and then ‘Come on. I suppose we’ll have to drive you home.’

Helen shivered. The mood of the evening had changed so sharply that she felt sick and shaken. Confusion and the first stab of guilt warred inside her as they trailed in silence across the wet grass. The five-barred gate appeared through the mist with the car beyond it. Once inside Oliver slumped in his corner and fell asleep while Gerry kept up a stream of disconnected talk, impervious to the lack of response.

Tom glanced quickly at Helen, then his face contracted in a black frown.

‘We’ll leave them at St Aldate’s and then go home.’

‘No,’ Helen said tonelessly. ‘Take me back to Follies too.’

They drove on in silence.

Outside Christ Church they roused Oliver and saw him wander in under the tower. Tom stopped again on Folly Bridge and Gerry hauled himself out.

‘So grateful,’ he said. ‘Can’t think how I’d have got Oliver home otherwise. Let me escort you inside, Helen.’

‘I will take care of Helen.’ Tom was dangerously quiet. Gerry shrugged and went away down the steps.

Alone in the car Helen and Tom looked bleakly at one another. The carelessness that had set them free on the wheel above Port Meadow was utterly gone. They were sombre and apprehensive.

Tom ran his fingers through his black hair.

‘Rather a mess,’ he said.

Helen took a deep breath. ‘It wasn’t real, that fair,’ she told him. ‘None of it really happened. I’m going to go inside now, and we can both forget it all.’ She forced conviction into her words.

Tom rounded on her furiously.

‘Don’t be a fool. Of course it happened. And we both know why, and what it means. How can you pretend that it didn’t?’

‘I can. I must.’ Helen was urgent. ‘Darcy …’

‘Screw Darcy. Oh, I’ll bet you haven’t. No, forget I said that.’

The door banged open and Helen leapt out on to the bridge. ‘I thought you were clever,’ she heard him call after her. ‘Obviously I misjudged you.’