“When you’re older you’ll find there’s plenty that comes into that category,” said Andrew and I decided that I didn’t like him much. He’d spoken in that tone some men use for certain kinds of sexual innuendo, wry, worldly wise, cynical. He had looked at me appraisingly and as if we were entering into a conspiracy.

We went back into the living room. Silver stopped Alison opening the wine. It was for them exclusively. Jason said good night to us, coming up first to Silver to say the words gravely, then to me. He hesitated as I bent toward him, then kissed my cheek.

“I should be so lucky.” Andrew cast up his eyes in mock envy. Then, before I could say anything, though I had no words ready, he took Jason off to bed.

There was silence. Silver broke it by asking Alison how long they had been there. It was really an invitation to tell us the circumstances of their flight, and this was how she took it. She sighed. But first she said, “I think we can trust you, but of course I don’t know. You may be just very clever actors. You may be criminals. For all I know, because we hardly ever see a newspaper, there may be a reward offered to whoever finds us and you may be after that. But I reason this way, if you are, you’ll give us up and our story will all come out, while if you’re not, you’re the best thing that’s happened to us since Louis let us have this place. Either way it makes no difference if I tell you what happened or if I don’t. So I shall.”