He wasn’t going to tell her anything. Maddy, not quite sober enough to err on the side of caution, wanted more. ‘And did you – well, after dinner, at the end of the evening …?’

‘Sleep with her?’ Drew’s eyes were veiled. ‘Does it matter?’

‘Of course it bloody matters. Oh, I know it’s none of my business, but yes, it matters.’

‘Yes, then. Not at Bonne Nuit. At her flat at the vineyard in St Lawrence. Is that what you wanted to hear?’

Maddy’s eyes filled with tears. She tugged her hand away from him.

Drew shook his head. ‘We slept together. We didn’t make love.’

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘Jesus, Maddy, I’m too tired for this. I thought you understood.’

‘I don’t understand anything. How can you kiss me like you do, behave the way you do, and still sleep with Caroline?’

Drew stopped on the edge of the swaying crowd round the barbecue, and pulled Maddy round to face him.

‘I have never lied to you. You’ve always known I was married. I’ve tried to explain my marriage to you. Oh, Maddy. I missed you so much. I thought you just accepted me, warts an’ all.’

‘Wife an’ all,’ Maddy muttered. ‘I do. I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to behave like a mistress.’

‘I’ve never had one, so I wouldn’t know.’ Drew’s eyes were teasing again. ‘All I know is that much as I adore Jersey I was counting the damn hours until I could see you again. Every delay with Dock of the Bay’s shipment was driving me crazy. When Caroline told me she was coming with me I could have throttled her. Now, are we going to eat or spend the rest of the evening sniping at each other like school kids?’

Maddy’s stomach rumbled. Drew laughed and pulled her into his arms. ‘Well, that’s one decision taken care of.’

They piled their plates with something from every section of the barbecue and sank down on the grass beside the rockery. Balancing their plates on their knees, they smiled at each other. The crisis was over. This time.

‘So, what’s been happening while I’ve been away?’ Drew forked up a delicious pink mound of salmon. ‘You’ve told me nothing on the phone.’

‘It’s been fairly quiet. Oh, I met Mitchell D’Arcy … which was just after I’d discovered Diana and Peter making love in her office …’

Drew choked noisily on his chicken leg. A family from the new bungalows looked across and tutted. ‘Bloody hell!’ His eyes were wide. ‘Well, go on …’

She told him. He sat with a forkful of salad suspended in mid-air. ‘I’m sure Peter thinks I’m going to blackmail him,’ she finished. ‘But there’s no point. I couldn’t. I’ve been avoiding him and Stacey all night.’

‘And Diana?’