‘That’s more like it,’ I murmured. ‘John, don’t. You couldn’t have stopped him. He tried every trick in the book to get you to do it for him.’

‘He almost succeeded. God. It was so close. Too close . . .’

‘Kiss me.’

‘What? Oh. Right.’

‘Better now?’ I asked after a while. My voice wasn’t very steady.

Neither was his. ‘Yes, thank you, I am experiencing temporary relief. Suppose we postpone further treatment? I can’t stand this ghastly place much longer.’

‘Is it safe to leave?’

‘Oh, I should think so. Maxie’s a man of his word – when it suits him to keep it.’

‘Are we going to keep ours? To give him an hour?’

‘I didn’t give him my word. However, annoying Max would not be a sensible move on my part. I shan’t turn him in, but there’s no reason why we have to wait out the time here.’

‘Okay. Wait just a minute.’

The earrings were hard to see against the complex pattern of the rug. I finally found both of them. One of the wires was broken.

‘It can be repaired,’ said John, over my shoulder. ‘Though I shouldn’t think you’d want them now.’

‘Are you kidding? They’re the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.’

‘How did you know I meant them for you?’

‘She told me. That just made me want them more.’

‘Vindictive little creature, aren’t you?’

‘Vindictive, yes. Little, no.’ The light ran softly along the tiny golden faces. I closed my fingers carefully around them. ‘Over twenty centuries they have probably been in worse hands. And ears.’

The house was uncannily quiet and as eerie as a mausoleum. Dust covers shrouded most of the furniture and our footsteps echoed in the silence. It was hard for me to believe the place was really deserted; I kept expecting someone to jump out at us from the shadows huddling in those vast, high-ceilinged rooms. When we reached the door without meeting anyone John let out his breath.

‘There are television crews and newspaper reporters all around the house,’ he said. ‘I would offer to carry you out in a fainting condition, but appealing to the tender mercies of the press might not be as effective as making a run for it.’

‘We’ll run,’ I said. ‘I won’t even ask where.’

‘That’s an encouraging sign. Stay close.’

He put his arm around me and opened the door.

The limo was big and black and long. As we raced towards it, hotly pursued by assorted newspapers, the door opened. John tripped a reporter and pushed me into a pair of waiting arms.

‘Hi, Schmidt,’ I said. ‘I had a feeling you’d be here.’