‘What will you do now?’

‘I’ll have a talk with Hazel about her father. I think I need to prepare her for the idea that he may not be coming home … soon.’ I didn’t want to be the one to tell her, but I didn’t want anyone else to do it either. ‘What about you?’

‘I’ll go home, take a bath, make myself something to eat, fall asleep next to the radio, get up in the morning, go back to work.’ He smeared his hand across his face.

‘I first met Nick in a railway station,’ I said. ‘Oh, he could be charming.’

‘That’s probably why he was able to get away with it. For a while.’

‘Probably.’ The cold was beginning to get to me. ‘Well, thank you. I suppose it’s goodbye.’

‘I hope it goes all right with Hazel.’

‘Thanks.’

He slipped away towards the entrance to the Underground, into the sea of people hurrying in all directions and none. No one took any notice of this ageing man with an air of sadness about him.

‘Hazel,’ I said, knocking on her door, ‘would you like to come down and have supper?’ She opened the door. I could see she had been crying again. ‘May I come in?’

We sat together on the bed. ‘What about Dad?’ she asked.

‘Your dad’s still where he was.’

‘What did he do?’

I hesitated. ‘Your dad is a good, brave man who always tried to help other people. If anyone says anything else, don’t listen to them. He’s a doctor. He helps other people, even when it costs him.’

‘Are they going to let him go?’

‘It might take longer than we thought.’

‘Why?’

‘I think you should eat something. Will you do that for me?’

‘All right,’ she said unhappily.

I took her down to the kitchen. There was much of her mother in her, and yet there was a shyer grace in her movements – Lorelei seemed to attract attention even when she was standing still. I made an omelette with a little cheese, although I could hardly swallow mine. Then I saw her to bed and we talked for a while about Nick and what might happen now. I left her to let the thoughts sink in. Tomorrow we would talk more.

Sitting on my own bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I had lost my own parents. I had been older than Hazel and had had time to come to terms with it – but even then it had been hard enough.

And I made a decision. I resolved to find a way to prevent that happening to her.