‘We’ll knock off now and go home.’ He looked into the dark house. ‘It was a wonderful production, Fox,’ he said. ‘The best I’ve seen. Almost too good. I don’t think they can carry on.’

‘What do you suppose they’ll do in its place?’

‘Lord knows. Something quite different. Getting Gertie’s Garter,’ said Alleyn angrily.

II

‘I wonder,’ said Emily, ‘what the Smiths are doing.’

‘The Smiths?’ asked Crispin. ‘What Smiths? Oh, you mean William and his mum,’ he said, and returned to his book.

‘Yes. Your father sent him home as soon as he realized what had happened. I think he just said there’d been an accident. He may have said: “to Sir Dougal”. There’s nothing they could have read in the Sunday papers. It’ll be an awful shock for them.’

‘How old is he?’ asked Robin, who lay on his back on the windowseat, vaguely kicking his feet in the air.

‘Who? William?’

‘Yes.’

‘Nine.’

‘Same as me.’

‘Yes.’

‘Is he silly and wet?’

‘He’s certainly not silly and I don’t know what you mean by “wet”.’

‘Behind the ears. Like a baby.’

‘Not at all like that. He can fight. He’s learning karate and he’s a good gymnast.’

‘Does he swear?’

‘I haven’t heard him but I dare say he does.’

‘I suppose,’ said Robin, bicycling madly, ‘he’s very busy on Sundays.’

‘I’ve no information. Shall I ask him to come to lunch? You could go over in a taxi to Lambeth where he lives and fetch him. Only an idea,’ said Emily very casually.

‘Oh yes. You could do that,’ shouted Robin and leapt to his feet. ‘Please ask him. Thrice three and double three. Two for you and three for me. Please.’

‘Right you are.’

Emily consulted the cast list that Peregrine kept pinned up by the telephone and dialled a number.

‘Mrs Smith? It’s Emily Jay. I’ve got two sons home for half-term and we wondered if by any chance William would like to pay us a visit today. Robin, who’s William’s age, could come and collect him for lunch and we’d promise to return him after an early supper here…Yes…Yes, would you?’

She heard Mrs Smith’s cool voice repeating the invitation: ‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you?’ she added and William’s voice: ‘I think so. Yes. Thank you.’

‘Yes, he’d like to come, thank you very much.’