‘Why didn’t you go to New York?’ she asked, leaning in as though she might be genuinely curious.

‘My boyfriend, fiancé now, lost his grandmother and she left us her house up in Sheffield,’ I replied, launching into the same approved version of events I’d told so many people over the last three years. ‘We decided it would be nice to be near family, so we moved back up north and I started temping.’

‘And how exactly did you end up on this dinghy with me?’

‘Still not entirely sure,’ I replied with a smile. ‘I know this isn’t the kind of job little girls grow up dreaming about, but I really do love it.’

I held Juliette’s gaze for as long as I could, before I looked away to watch the sun disappear beyond the horizon, everything behind us shifting from ambiguous shades of grey to solid black.

‘You’re not like the others, you know,’ she said after a while.

‘Is that a compliment?’

She picked up the teapot and refilled my cup. ‘It most certainly is.’

‘Are you excited about the ball?’ I asked as I felt the yacht pick up speed, powering ahead into the night. ‘Sarah says it’s a very big deal.’

‘You’ve never heard of the Crystal Ball?’ She looked surprised when I shook my head. ‘Where did she find you?’ Juliette breathed. ‘Yes, I think so, I’ve never been before, but everyone says it’s incredible. I was invited once but couldn’t go – I had a thing in Australia on the same night, so the organisers blacklisted me – you know how these things are.’

‘Sounds a bit like my future mother-in-law,’ I replied. ‘Miss her Boxing Day buffet once and you’ll never see another invitation.’

‘Someone else has taken over the organizing committee this year, so it looks like I’m in favour again, even if it is as a performer and not a guest. Instead of partying, I’ll be flying across the room in a giant plastic bubble, literally singing for my supper. I have to suffer my punishment, I suppose.’

‘Pretty nice punishment,’ I said, a hand covering my full mouth. ‘I hope it pays well.’

She pouted and poked a foot through the railing, her shoe hanging from her toes and dangling perilously over the water below. ‘It doesn’t pay at all because it’s for charity, but no one turns down the Crystal Ball. Plus, Bey told me they spent a million on the firework display last year, and I love fireworks.’

‘Really?’ I didn’t acknowledge the namedrop but I did file it away for future reference.

‘They’re my favourite thing,’ she nodded. ‘They always remind me of being little, watching the displays, all bundled up in my hat and scarf and a sparkler. Everyone’s happy on bonfire night.’

I smiled at the thought of little Juliette oohing and ahhing at Catherine wheels, a miniature sparkler in her hand. ‘I know what you mean,’ I said, picking up the teapot and topping her off.