Briony looked him up and down and said scathingly, ‘Why don’t you just piss off before I really lose my rag?’ Her voice was low and menacing.

All around people were watching the spectacle. On stage Kerry had started another number, her voice straining to rise over the hubbub. People were muttering among themselves and Briony, seeing the ruin of a good evening, was getting more annoyed by the second.

As Rupert and Peter were ejected from the club she said to Jonathan, ‘I can’t believe you could still associate with those two! You’re the one who told me they were on a downward slide. Now go home and sober up, man. You sicken me like this.’

Jonathan bowed low, his drink-fuddled brain unable to comprehend what had taken place around him.

When they had left, Briony apologised personally to her customers, and told the doorman that under no circumstances were Rupert and Peter ever to be allowed entry into the club again.

Briony arrived home at just after four in the morning. She was tired out. In her Hyde Park house there had been trouble. A valued customer had contracted syphilis and Briony had had to tell the girl responsible. She had gone mad, saying the customer had given it to her. After what seemed an age, Briony had finally sorted out the situation. The girl’s working life was suspended until a treatment of arsphenamines was working. The man in question, not a very amiable person at the best of times, was a well-known industrialist who had lost two wives through his philandering and was now eager to get into parliament. A scandal was not in his best interests but nevertheless the man raged and blasphemed until Briony felt an urge to slap his face for him. Instead she had smiled, and smoothed everything over. When she finally got home she was fed up, tired out and in need of a good night’s sleep. Peter was bad enough, but the trouble at the house had made a bad evening even worse.

She poured herself a large brandy and tiptoed up the stairs to her bedroom. As she undressed, she heard a tap on the door.

‘Come in.’

It was Sister Mary Magdalene.

‘I’m sorry to disturb you, but I think you’d better come and look at Eileen.’

Briony sighed heavily. Pulling off her dress, she grabbed a wrapper and followed the nun from the room. In Eileen’s bedroom she froze. Her sister was lying in bed wide awake. Her eyes were bright and she was smiling.

‘Hello, Bri. Come and talk to me for a minute. You look all in.’

Briony smiled in wonder.

‘Eileen? How come you’re all bright eyed and bushy-tailed at this hour?’

Eileen shrugged.