“She’s turned out a treat, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, let’s not argue now. Come and sit in the car. You look like you’ve had a nasty turn.”

“Yes, I think perhaps I should sit down until Max gets here.” She allowed herself to be led to my estate car and collapsed with great drama into the front seat. I turned my attention back to the dock to see if Max was anywhere in view and was amazed to see Paolo was coming toward me, with Belinda clutching his arm.

“Oh, Georgie,” Belinda cried, letting go of Paolo’s arm and rushing up to me. “What a horrid thing to have happened. I was looking out of the back of the boat and it just sort of bobbed to the surface and I couldn’t think what it was to start with.”

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It is rather beastly, isn’t it?”

She nodded. “So lucky Paolo didn’t strike the body when he was going really fast. He’d have killed himself for sure.”

“But what is Paolo doing back here?” I asked. “The last I saw of him he was being bundled into a police car.”

“They had to let him go,” she said, with a triumphant toss of the head. “He proved to them that he was actually dining with people on the other side of London when the poor girl was run down. Of course I knew he couldn’t possibly have done anything like that.”

Paolo took her arm. “Come, cara. I do not wish to be here when the police arrive. I have had enough of English police.”

“These are Scottish police,” I said.

He shrugged. “English, Scottish, all the same. All very stupid and cannot see past the end of their noses. I kept telling them they make a mistake and somebody steals my motorbike, but they do not listen.”

“I’ll see you later, Georgie,” Belinda said, as Paolo dragged her away.

Max arrived with Digby Flute, and my mother extricated herself from the car to fly to his side. “Max, darling. It’s been such a horrible shock. Take me away from here,” she said, giving a fabulous rendition of a tragic heroine about to expire.

“Do not worry, Liebchen. We go,” he said.

The crowd had dwindled. A few of the boys still lingered, watching wide-eyed. Darcy was bending over the body, covering it with his jacket.

“Someone’s done a good job of giving him a nasty bash on the back of his head,” he said, straightening up. “I suppose it was okay to let all the witnesses go. We know where they are staying if the police need statements.”

I nodded. I was starving and I really wanted to go home, but I didn’t want to leave Darcy alone to this unpleasant task. I just didn’t want to leave Darcy.