‘Maya was a little … lost a few years ago and she did turn to religion. My father tried to help her; he introduced her to what he calls the jet-set, the children of his business colleagues, the good-time gang. He thought it would distract her from her unhappiness. He does not believe in Islam any more; he lost his faith many years ago. Only unfortunately, she met Nadif.’ He turned to his assistant. ‘An ashtray, Taalah, please.’

The girl jumped up at once. She was in awe of him; I could see that much.

I cleared my throat nervously. ‘But Maya said – she said your dad, after 9/11, that he reclaimed his faith.’

‘You can’t believe anything she says at the moment. She is a very mixed-up girl. My father was angry that all Muslims were tarred with the same brush, that’s true to say. But it didn’t mean he wanted to blow up the world, Mrs Miller. It didn’t mean he began to follow bin Laden or any other mullah.’

‘I see,’ I said quietly. I studied his face again. Handsome, smooth. Too smooth really. Pretty almost.

‘And personally I see myself as British, first and foremost. All I want is to iron out Britain’s future. The rise of the BNP, that idiot Griffin, the English Defence League, the integration of the far right into Europe’s major political parties, it’s all a disgrace in the twenty-first century, don’t you think?’

‘Yes I do. Absolutely.’

‘So, Mrs Miller,’ he switched tack, ‘I would ask that you understand Maya’s sad predicament. And that you trust her family know what is best for her.’ He held my eye and I felt a strange hypnotic quality about him, a trait that would make Ash Kattan quite brilliant as a politician. Like his father, he was mesmerising.

‘Of course.’ I thought back to the death at the manor. To Maya’s glazed eyes yesterday. ‘So what was the doctor giving her?’

‘Methadone. She is withdrawing from heroin, Mrs Miller. That is our painful truth.’

I felt a rush of embarrassment. I thought of the addicts I’d met before; of Maya’s glazed eyes. How could I have been so dense? I thought of Oxford and the Society, of my own guilt at the part I’d played. I felt old and tired; weary of this mess. I just wanted to go home.

‘I’m so sorry.’ I stood to leave. ‘It must be very difficult for you.’

‘Maya has been weakened, that is all. She has lost her way but her family are there for her.’ Ash smiled his enchanting smile again. ‘We are there to help her back on track. The devil is within us all, but we need to learn to subdue him.’