Jack laughs as he unlocks the car and they climb in. ‘And there was I just about to suggest that you and Sam come over for coffee or a drink on Saturday. You could meet Amy properly, and Charley, too, if she stays around that long.’

‘Well, that’s a bit different,’ says Cara, putting on her seat belt. ‘I was really talking about big events like Christmas or special birthdays. Drinks on Saturday has a nice casual sound.’

They join the line of cars leaving the car park and heading down the long drive to the main road. She’s surprised at how much she’s enjoyed her evening: going down the stairs in the interval, into the Roundhouse with its huge beam and whitewashed walls, to find their glasses of wine waiting for them, set out on a table with their names printed on a piece of paper. They sat together on one of the sofas and discussed the merits of Papagena and the Queen of the Night and agreed that it was impossible not to clap just like the live audience at special moments. Yet even as she laughed and talked with him, there was the ever-present knowledge that she mustn’t allow herself to be drawn too closely to him. Too many secrets and lies, too much to hide. She knows that Jack could get under her skin: he’s so easy, so amusing, so confident. With Philip alive she was able to live and love and laugh with him, skating above the darkness – the suppressed chaos that might overwhelm her – always in denial. Now, she can’t imagine trusting anybody else enough to tell them the truth about her life, though occasionally she imagines the luxury of confession.

‘So that’s a plan, is it?’ Jack is asking, as they turn on to the main road, heading into Totnes. ‘Saturday? Coffee and lunch at the pub? Will Max be back?’

‘Yes,’ she says, glad to be distracted from her thoughts. ‘He’s coming home tomorrow. I’ll have to check with him and Sam. Either sounds great.’

Another thought crosses her mind. ‘Have you met Cosmo yet?’

‘No.’ She hears him chuckle in the darkness. ‘Amy’s not letting on about Cosmo.’

Cara remembers the little sense of shock in the Coffee Shop when she first saw Cosmo, the way he reminded her of Giovanni, and she has a sudden need to reach out to Jack, to put her hand on his arm or his thigh so as to tether herself to someone who might protect her from her demons. Deliberately she crosses her arms, tucking her hands into her armpits.

‘Like I was saying earlier, Sam is making a great guide,’ she says lightly, deliberately changing the subject, ‘and I’m having a wonderful time, but I’m still totally confused about where I ought to be. I think everyone’s right about advising me to rent but the million-dollar question is where.’