‘It was my money, you see – a legacy from my aunt – and I thought I should be able to use it how I wanted. And what I wanted was to have a career, and for that I felt I needed to upgrade my qualifications.’ He handed her a tissue from the box on the desk and she dabbed at her eyes, finally plucking up the courage to look at him. ‘I know there’s no excuse for what I’ve done, but…’ She gulped back her explanation, resigned to her fate. ‘Anyway… at least you know why I did it.’

He adjusted his position on the desk, one arm across his chest, the other hand tugging at his beard. His expression was pensive as he looked over her head at the wall, obviously thinking about her sorry tale and what he should do now.

She scrunched the damp tissue in her hand. ‘I know you’ll have to tell Fiona and the board. I know you’ll have to sack me. And I know I’ve committed a crime. But I promise I will pay it back. I will.’ She pressed her hands together, as if in prayer. ‘Please don’t tell the police. Please?’

He looked down at her, sympathy in his eyes rather than the judgement she’d expected. ‘Look, I understand.’ He raised his hands, palms up. ‘We’ve all made mistakes. And I know this is totally out of character.’

He gazed at her, his eyes fixed on hers, his hand tugging at his beard again as the seconds ticked by. The silence smothered her, and she could hear herself taking shallow gasping breaths as she waited for him to carry on, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

‘Hmm,’ he said, at last. ‘I think I might have an idea.’ He smiled at her. ‘How about I repay this money for you, then nobody needs to know. I can tell this new treasurer the transfer was an error, done while you were still learning. She won’t have a clue which account the money was transferred into.’ He nodded to himself as his idea gathered steam. ‘She won’t have time to double-check every transaction, will she? And if it’s gone back into the account, then there’s nothing to worry about. The status quo has been restored. The books are balanced. No harm done.’

She frowned, unable to believe what he was proposing. ‘What? No. I can’t let you do that. You don’t even know me that well. Honestly, I would pay you back, but…’ She shook her head. ‘No, I can’t let you do it.’