‘You may be saying that. I’m not. Bill did actually meet Malee when he was on a trip to Thailand.’

‘So, what difference does that make?’

‘I think a “Mail Order Bride” is generally considered to be someone who registers themselves with an international marriage agency, hoping to attract a husband from a wealthier country. That’s not what happened with Bill and Malee. They met socially while he was on holiday in Thailand.’

‘When you say “socially”, you don’t mean they met at a cocktail party, do you?’ asked Carole beadily.

‘No, probably not. Bill went out to Thailand on a group tour. He met Malee. A few weeks later she came to England and they got married at the registry office in Fedborough.’

‘So, what was Malee doing in Thailand at the time they met?’

‘I think she was a waitress in the hotel where he was staying.’

‘Then it’s the same difference really, isn’t it, Jude? She might as well have been a “Mail Order Bride”. She was on the lookout for a wealthy Englishman to get her out of poverty, and he was looking for a continual supply of subservient sex.’

For an intelligent woman who did The Times crossword, Carole often came across as surprisingly Daily Mail. ‘From all I can gather,’ Jude said, ‘it’s turned out to be a very happy marriage.’

‘Huh,’ said Carole, as only she could say ‘Huh.’ She went on, ‘Well, I didn’t get the impression Bill’s new bride was spreading much sweetness and light into the next generation.’

‘Billy?’

‘Yes.’

‘Hm.’ Jude nodded. ‘Billy’s a man with problems.’

‘Oh? And, incidentally, how is it that you know so much about the Shefford set-up?’

‘I’ve been doing some work with Billy’s mother-in-law.’

‘By “work”, I assume you mean “healing”?’ Carole could never keep a shade of contempt out of her pronunciation of that word. But then again, she didn’t really want to keep it out. To her, any form of medical procedure that didn’t involve an NHS GP was deeply suspicious. The very word ‘healer’ carried with it an ineradicable whiff of charlatanism.

‘Shannon Shefford’s mother, Rhona, is dying.’

‘Oh, and you can heal her of that, can you?’

It was a cheap shot, but Jude didn’t rise to it. She just said, ‘I can perhaps make her last months less stressful.’

‘Huh,’ said Carole. But she did feel slightly guilty for the cynical line she had taken. She often made pronouncements that came out sounding more callous than she’d intended. She envied her neighbour’s skill for saying the right thing at the right time.

A sudden twinge of pain in her right knee distracted her. She adjusted her position in the armchair as subtly as she could, but Jude still noticed.

‘Something wrong with your leg?’ she asked.