‘If you can find her. I’ve just come back from the gallops with Richard. Her car is outside so she must be around somewhere. Go and have a look, my dear. I’m going down to the Cat and Fiddle for some serious drinking.’

Waiting until Gareth had ambled out of sight, Maddy walked up to the brass-studded door and pulled the bell. There was no reply, so she stepped into the hall. ‘Diana?’ Silence. Just the ticking of the grandmother clock. She called again. The house was empty. ‘Damn.’ And just when she’d stiffened the sinews and summoned the courage, too.

She sighed. Stacey’s words still rankled. She was in the mood for a confrontation. Maybe Diana was in the office.

She removed her trainers in the hall – there was no point in making extra work for herself come Tuesday – and ran up the twisting staircase. Diana’s office was at the end of the minstrels’ gallery, tucked away out of sight. Gareth worked downstairs in full view of all visitors. Diana was more selective, and also more secretive. She quite often had her office door locked, and when Maddy had enquired about cleaning it she’d been told not to bother; Diana would give a little flick round when necessary. She and Fran reckoned Diana had got a selection of the Chippendales stashed away in the filing cabinets.

‘Diana? Are you up here?’ There was still no reply. She was just about to retrace her steps when the faintest noise made her pause. There was somebody in the office.

‘Great. I’ll beard the lioness in her den, always supposing she’ll open the door.’ But the door wasn’t locked. The handle turned silently. The door swung open on well-oiled hinges. Maddy’s jaw dropped.

She’d have recognised that bum anywhere. Neat and tight muscled, with a star shaped mole just above the cleft. She’d seen it plenty of times. Likewise the caramel-coloured tanned body; the even coloration screaming ‘sun-bed’. She even recognised the athletic thrust.

What she didn’t recognise was Diana. Spread eagled on the desk beneath Peter, Diana was stark naked except for a pair of riding boots. She had a birthmark on her thigh, and her eyes were tightly closed. Her head threshed from side to side in time with the thrusts. Maddy knew she was faking.

Biting her lips, she stepped outside and pulled the door closed as silently as she’d opened it. Her blush was all over, and her first coherent thought was one of pity for Gareth. She didn’t give a thought to Stacey. Stacey deserved it.