‘Not unless orgasms make your arms feel like they’ve come out of their sockets, your legs feel like they belong to someone else, your whole body crumple from exhaustion, and make you sweat so much that you think you’ve just spent three days in a sauna.’ She caught his eye and flushed crimson. ‘Oh! I don’t mean …’

‘You’ll have to tell me one day, won’t you? And before you become all po-faced and puritanical again, you rode like an angel.’ He swung his legs out of the saddle and slid to the ground. Dock of the Bay immediately started cropping the scrubby grass. ‘Come down here …’

Maddy dropped to the ground. The sudden return to gravity made her stumble. Drew steadied her. ‘Caroline warned me not to hurt you.’

Maddy said nothing. Her heart was thumping from the exertion of the ride. His body was warm.

‘She said that she’d told you there had been other girls – women – who thought they could come between us.’

‘I wasn’t particularly interested. Drew, don’t let’s talk about this. Don’t spoil this moment. I’m feeling proud of myself for once.’

‘I just wanted you to know that I’m not a womaniser. I’m not a Peter Knightley or a Charlie Somerset. I didn’t want Caroline to have given you the wrong impression.’

‘Caroline is your wife. She has every right to warn me to stay away from you.’ Maddy wanted to stamp her foot. ‘But she did say that because you kissed people and were friendly that maybe you gave off the wrong signals.’

Drew frowned. He looked up at the sky and then back at Maddy’s face. ‘And do I?’

‘How would I know? I liked you at the start because you were funny and friendly and because you came to my rescue even though you didn’t know me.’ She dragged air into her aching lungs. ‘I thought you were very attractive … I liked you even before we became friends.’

‘And now?’

‘And now I still like you. But you’re married. You and Caroline stay together because you love and trust each other. If you weren’t married it would be different, but we’ll never know, will we?’

She grabbed Solomon’s reins and hauled herself back into the safe distance of the saddle. Drew was still on the ground looking up at her. She gave a small smile.

‘Don’t complicate things, Drew. You know how I feel, but I’m not going to be the one to end your marriage. And I’m not prepared to screw up my life again. Not even for you.’

‘Caroline doesn’t want us to separate.’

‘No,’ Maddy said bleakly. ‘I gathered that.’

‘Will that make a difference to us?’