It was late, and Banks was about to suggest calling a taxi, considering how much they had drunk, when Zelda suddenly said, “Can I stay here tonight, Alan? I don’t want to go back to the empty cottage alone. I know it’s silly, but I just want to know that there’s someone nearby. Can I stay? I can sleep on the sofa. I promise I won’t be any trouble.”

Banks swallowed. Here he was, sitting across from one of the most beautiful women he had ever met in his life, and she was asking if she could stay the night. “Of course you can,” he said. “But you don’t have to sleep on the sofa. The spare room’s made up.”

“Are you sure? I feel like I’ve pressured you.”

Banks smiled. “It’s yours whenever you need it.”

She stood up and bent to put her arms around him. “Thank you,” she said, kissing his cheek. “God bless you, Alan Banks.” Then she spoke a few words in Russian he didn’t understand and stood up again.

“Do you want to go up right now?” Banks said.

Zelda nodded. “If it is not too rude. I’m tired. It’s been a very long week.”

“OK.”

Banks got up and led the way back down the hall to the staircase. “I don’t think I’ve got a spare toothbrush,” he said. “But you can check in the bathroom. There might be one in the cupboard.”

“No problem,” said Zelda.

Banks opened the door to the spare bedroom, where Tracy or Brian slept when they visited. It was small, with only a single bed, but there was a nice view of the woods, and on a warm night like this, Zelda could open the window a few inches and enjoy some fresh air and hear the dawn chorus in the morning.

“It’s perfect,” said Zelda. “Thank you.”

“I’ll be just next door. You know, if you need . . .” Banks backed away, turned and went back downstairs, embarrassed. He heard the bathroom door open and close as he went.

Once back in the conservatory, he found his heart was beating so fast he wasn’t sure whether he should have another glass of wine. But he poured himself one anyway. He changed the Blues Dialogues for Véronique Gens singing Chausson’s “Poème de l’amour et de la mer” and turned the volume down so as not to disturb Zelda. He heard the toilet flush, water running in the sink, then the bathroom door creaked open and closed again. Every sound seemed magnified by her presence, the strange and unsettling presence of a beautiful woman in the cottage. Finally, he heard the door to the spare room shut, and then only silence from upstairs. He would give her a while to settle down and fall asleep before he went up to his own room.