Mathers noticed Tony didn’t spend a lot of time at the club, and that even when he was there, he kept himself to himself and let his maître d’ run things. He also gave the entertainment room a wide berth, not wanting to be associated with the strippers.

It seemed even when everything appeared to be going right in Tony’s life, there was always something to bring him back down to earth.

‘Problem, Mr Lambrianu?’ Mathers said, raising his eyebrows at Tony on one of his rare visits.

Tony pushed back his hair with his hands. ‘No, Mathers, you have everything in hand. You don’t need me here, time for me to leave.’ Tony walked towards the door.

‘You have no need to stay in the shade just because you’re not a respectable married man, Mr Lambrianu,’ Mathers said. He looked Tony up and down. ‘If I may make an observation, I believe a double-breasted suit jacket would suit you more than the one you are wearing.’

Tony looked at Mathers and grinned, which took some of the stress away. ‘I tell you what, Mathers, why don’t you come clothes shopping with me and give me the benefit of your experience.’

‘Good idea, sir, that is just what I have been thinking,’ was all he said.

Tony felt it was blatantly obvious that this was what Mathers had wanted all along. At least if he chose the clothing, he couldn’t constantly find fault with it.

Tony backtracked a little; he was curious about what Mathers had just said. ‘What do you mean, Mathers, about being a married man? Is that why some of the members feel more comfortable with Jake in the room, because he’s married?’ He looked at Mathers and waited for a response.

Mathers put his fist to his mouth and gave a cough. ‘All the members here are married, sir. You and your colourful reputation, if I may say, seem to set the cat amongst the pigeons. To be a gentleman, you first have to dress like one. But remember, Mr Lambrianu, even the most respectable of men have skeletons in their cupboards; you just have to know which cupboard to look in.’

Tony wasn’t quite sure what Mathers was talking about, but he would find out. He couldn’t believe his single status seemed like some kind of threat to these men. Were they afraid that just because he played the field a little, their wives would think they were following his lead?

It was time to go back to the nightclub, but Mathers had certainly given Tony something to think about.

Somehow, he felt safer there, on home ground as it were. Maybe he would have a drink with Roxy and some of her friends and live up to his tarnished reputation as a ‘good time guy’. But he vowed to himself he would make these holier-than-thou members accept him, one way or another.

‘How come your butler never tells me how to dress?’ said Jake, while having a drink with Tony. ‘Or does he think I always get it right?’ Jake was curious; Mathers never mentioned how Jake was dressed.