Sam is taken aback by this unexpected confession and he can see that she is both angry and hurt, and very embarrassed. He casts about for some comforting answer that is in no way patronizing or diminishes her reaction.

‘That’s tough,’ he agrees. ‘I suppose it must have been a pretty big disaster to make him go rushing off. But surely everyone will get that, won’t they? I mean it’s not your fault, is it?’

‘No,’ she agrees, rather reluctantly, ‘but it’s embarrassing that he doesn’t say what it is so I have no real explanation. It’s just weird that one minute it’s all on and the next he’s on the train to London without any warning.’

Sam can see that it’s costing her to tell him all this, to take him into her confidence and expose her embarrassment to him. He longs to help her.

‘Look,’ he says, ‘let’s not make a big deal out of this. OK, so Cosmo hasn’t given you an explanation. Maybe it’s just too complicated to do it by text. If it’s some kind of emergency he might not be thinking straight. Meanwhile nobody is going to be that shocked, are they? If you like, I can tell Cara. And Max and Judith, too. Just in a casual kind of way. You can tell your father. Who else is there?’

‘Charley,’ says Amy.

She says the name rather sulkily, as if her old friend is the person she is worrying about most. Sam can understand this. Charley is the kind of woman who might very well tease and joke about it. He wonders if Amy has talked to Charley about Cosmo, opened up to her, and now it will be embarrassing to tell her that he’s gone off to London with no explanation.

‘You’ll have to tough it out,’ he says firmly. ‘Tell your dad as soon as you can and then Charley will be the only one you need to worry about and there will be too many of us around for her to be much of a problem.’

She stares at him in surprise and with a certain amount of admiration.

‘Thanks,’ she says at last. ‘I guess that’s the way to do it. If you’ll tell the others and I tell Dad it won’t be a kind of public announcement. Everyone will know beforehand.’

‘You’ll be fine,’ he assures her. ‘And I’ll keep an eye on Charley.’

Amy begins to laugh. ‘I can see why everyone says you’ve been chosen to be a leader of men. Your talents would be wasted elsewhere. I shall count on you to have my back.’

He’s taken aback by her words. Is that really how people see him? He raises his coffee cup to her.

‘It’ll be fine,’ he tells her. ‘You’re in control. Remember that.’