‘My poor Holly. I had to come back because I forgot my phone. I’ll still make it – my talk isn’t until late this afternoon.’ He smiled slowly. ‘So we’re both here when we should be somewhere else.’

One of my hands rose to his caress his head, which was damp. ‘Is it raining?’

‘No.’

My heart was still beating fast, but he was sweating. I was struck by how controlled he kept everything in the house, as if in contrast to a body he couldn’t perfectly regulate, though he mostly managed to. ‘Are you angry at me?’ I asked.

‘Why would I be?’ He pulled me into his arms.

‘For looking in your suitcases.’ My forehead was against his chest. He smelled soapy and clean and woody and lovely, when the smell of everything else for the past two months had made me want to be sick.

‘Were you telling me the truth about what you’re doing, Holly?’

I pulled away and looked up at him. He was studying me so intently. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, if you wanted to see my history, as you say, you could have asked. So I can’t help but wonder if you were dragging out those suitcases so you could pack them and run away.’

‘No. Of course not.’ I was shaking my head at the irony of my telling the truth but not being believed. ‘How could you think that?’

‘It’s happened before.’ I could feel him playing with my hair again. ‘Dead fly.’

I shuddered. ‘Have you got it?’

‘Yes.’ He walked quickly to the front door to flick it away, then applied more gel to his fingers. ‘This is your house too. You can go anywhere you wish. Touch anything you find. Open whatever cupboard or drawer you want. I’d never stop you.’

‘Really?’

He took a step away, still with a hand on each of my upper arms, as if needing to evaluate me from different vantage points to make his assessment. ‘Really. I have no secrets from you.’ He leaned over to lift something from the floor. The tax attorney’s card, which I must have dropped when Zac walked in. ‘So you found my good friend Al.’

I cleared my throat, feeling caught out again. ‘Yes. Who is he?’

‘American. We were at UCL together – he read international law. Obsessed with tax but an interesting, funny guy. As smart as they come.’ He glanced towards the beautiful suitcase. ‘Was Al’s card in that?’

‘Yes. Did you give the card to Jane?’

‘Could have been Al – he visited us in London once, several years ago. Might have been me – hard to remember. Anything else you want to know before I leave?’

‘Was the suitcase Jane’s?’

‘Yes.’

‘A gift from you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why do you still have it?’