‘I didn’t want to say this. Are you going to make me spell it out?’ She let out an awkward laugh then continued, using simple words as if she was speaking to a child. ‘We know things about each other. I know things about you, and you know things about me. That’s why you can’t push me. It’s why I won’t be pushed.’

Danny stared, astonished. He seemed to be blindsided by this message. Reeling, he said after some moments, ‘And these papers – are they your doing? I didn’t think it would be you.’

‘It’s not. Of course it’s not.’

‘You’re the one talking about the past!’

This was becoming a proper row. Frank growled and started barking, and Rose had to put him out in the garden and shut the door. She was indignant at this point, feeling wrongly accused.

When she returned to the room, Danny nodded very slowly, as if the truth were dawning on him. In a slightly disembodied way, she watched his changing expression. He’d always had a tremendously mobile, expressive face, and now it was remarkable to see the way his anger took a physical hold of him. He blinked his eyes rapidly. The full lips stretched into a smirk and then his face contorted further, becoming a mask of loathing.

‘I can’t fucking believe it. You of all people. I wouldn’t have thought you capable of it, spreading that muck, but I should have known better. Of course you are, you obstinate little…’

In the back garden, Frank – her Frank – kept up his frenzied barking. At this point, she cut Danny off. She had been sitting on her ace card. She didn’t think she would need to use it. She had barely allowed herself to think about using it.

‘You think I’m talking about directorships? About probity, independence, your management practices? When it comes to what I know, that’s the least of your problems!’

Danny lowered his brow and stared at her angrily, like a bull. ‘What are you talking about, the fire?’

‘Yes, the fire,’ she said.

To be fair, he had not been the leader. They were both only students. The other two activists were older and battle-hardened; they knew about tactics and homemade explosives. Danny and Rose formed what Garrett called the smarty-pants division. He said this sarcastically, resenting them for being cosseted university students, all the more so because he knew he needed them.