I spot Alicia – she is there before me – and then almost as quickly she is gone. She flits in and out of the crowd in her green dress with all the ruffles: in the shop I thought it was too old for her but I caved in too fast. I keep finding that my resolve to fight has fled. Alicia is overexcited, a small wraith pulsing with the exhilaration in the air, so much her father’s daughter, her dark hair falling against her pale face. Her friend Holly follows faithfully behind, carrot-coloured plaits bouncing on her shoulders – and then there is Effie, trundling through, struggling to keep up with the older girls. Her solid little limbs so plump you could take a bite out of them, her tongue stuck between her teeth in concentration as she hunts for her big sister, her round cheeks pink with effort and excitement.

‘Effie.’ I shove the wine into someone’s hand – Xav’s I think. ‘Do you mind?’ I mutter absently, and he grins and says, ‘Mind? A Clos des Papes ‘07? Are you insane, darling?’ I release the bottle and quicken my step to catch up with my smaller daughter as her gaze darts from side to side, as she realises she’s finally lost the trail. My heart aches, and I reach her with a rush of something like relief, scooping her up, pressing Effie’s face into my neck, the smell of her always like being home. The short bunches she insisted on tickle my nose, her shiny blonde hair blending into mine, and for one moment, Effie relaxes in my grasp. She lets her weight go and rests there, small and sturdy in my arms, and for a second I feel safe. Not even safe, in fact, but actually – sane.

And then Effie starts to wriggle. She’s spotted Alicia and Holly now. They are rapt with concentration over by the ice sculpture of a couple subtly screwing that James had insisted on. ‘It’s art, Rosie,’ he’d said with a grin when I demurred. ‘The kids’ll think they’re hugging.’

‘I doubt it,’ I muttered, but I acquiesced, because after all it was his big night.

I watch Alicia and Holly now, wide-eyed as the MP Eddie Johnson flips his fingers behind Holly’s freckled ear and retrieves a shiny coin. I wonder why he is here – but then, I’d given up any control of the guest list, apart from Hadi Kattan. I’d told James I didn’t want him near the house – but Xav said he’d heard he’d returned to Iran anyway.

I’m reminded painfully of Effie’s presence as she kicks me in the ribs, struggling to get down.