‘Then I’ll make sure I don’t have to give anyone else a lift.’

‘Gosh, thank you, Sarah. You’ve been amazing.’

‘I haven’t done anything, actually. But you really will be amazing. I promise you.’

Somehow Sarah’s words stayed with her as they drove to the venue. Her parents had never had much faith in her but other people had, and Sarah reminded her that she had done difficult things in the past and done them well. She thought of everything she had achieved since the whole festival thing had begun, from Lindy Hopping to speaking to schoolchildren to talking would-be authors through their manuscripts. Asking Dermot a few questions, allowing him to talk as much as he liked on the subjects that came up shouldn’t be as hard as any of that. And yet somehow it seemed, much harder.

Sarah stayed with her, keeping her calm and bolstering her spirits until it was time for her to go on to the stage behind the drawn curtain.

The stage was set with a low table covered with a cloth and two chairs. On the table were two glasses of water and a carafe. Dermot was already there. He smiled at Laura. ‘Maybe we should shake hands before we start, like boxers.’

His smile made her stomach turn over. ‘I’m interviewing you. It’s not a confrontation,’ she said, and heard her voice tremble. And she didn’t believe it, really.

Dermot had a file of papers propped against his chair. ‘I know you didn’t want us to talk but I feel I must. We haven’t had time – you rushed off and—’

She put up her hand. ‘No really, there’s no need for you to say anything. It’s fine. I do understand.’

Sarah called from the wings. ‘It’s time. Are you guys ready?’

‘Not quite,’ said Dermot. He was gazing at her, a puzzled look on his face.

‘Oh yes we are.’ Laura was firm. She felt if she waited any longer she might actually be sick.

‘We must find a moment to talk,’ he began. ‘What happened in Ireland—

‘We don’t need to talk about that. In fact, we don’t need to talk about anything except – oh, the curtains are going back,’ she said with relief, even if it meant her next ordeal was about to begin.

Rupert introduced them and, staring beyond the lights, Laura could see the place was packed. She glanced at Dermot, to see if he was shaking too, but he didn’t seem to be. He was looking out at the audience; how he felt about it was a mystery to her.

When the applause had died down Laura took a sip of water so her mouth would work. This was it.

She recited the phrases of introduction she had prepared and then turned to Dermot with the first question.

‘So, tell us, Dermot, were you happy at school?’