I asked Silver what the connection between Diana Lomax and the Robinsons had been. He reminded me of his father’s gratitude to her and her (now explained) embarrassment at his effusiveness.

“Dad knew Diana had friends somewhere in Maida Vale. He wanted to know who they were and where they lived, he wanted to ask them all to dinner while Diana was staying with them. I remember she wouldn’t tell him. I remember her one visit to this house when she came on very strong. She actually said she’d done nothing, she didn’t want gratitude, and he forced her to say that she thought it was best to leave things as they were. She meant not to get to know each other any better. She asked him not to write to her and not to phone her. I remember that because the atmosphere got quite nasty. I was about eleven.”

“What was she afraid of?”

“Oh, principally, I think, that if the families grew close, which was what Dad wanted, I might see Alison and recognize her. Or I might see something I recognized from that house. Diana had moved in to share with Alison then.

“Mum was completely in agreement. She didn’t want us to keep on knowing Diana, she said she and Dad had nothing in common with her, and it was time Dad realized after eight years that Diana had only done her duty, it was what anyone would have done. As for Diana, I can see it was natural for her to be embarrassed. After all, it was her daughter who was at fault. She hadn’t found me and brought me back out of duty or public-spiritedness or whatever but to save her daughter’s skin. All she wanted was to put a lot of time and space between her family and us Silvermans. She only succeeded by dying. Dad had gone on pursuing her with letters and phone calls. I don’t think he could bear the idea of someone not wanting to be friends with him. He was a bit like a stalker, only he didn’t actually stalk. When I was older I wondered if he’d been attracted by her and that accounted for it, but I don’t think it was that.”

“Does Alison look like her?”