‘That’s in Swindon, right? I’m in London at the moment.’

‘We are in Swindon, I’m afraid. Can you get here? We don’t use postal services for this sort of handover of confidential paperwork.’

‘I was coming to Wiltshire anyway.’

‘Good. We’ll need to see some proper identification, a passport for preference.’

‘I can provide that. What’s your address and what hours are you open?’

‘We’re only open for handovers like yours from 10 a.m. to noon during the holiday period. My employer likes to verify people’s identities himself. He takes the confidentiality aspect very seriously indeed.’

Adam grimaced as he looked at his watch. Not possible to get there in that time frame today. He reined in his irritation. It wasn’t this woman’s fault and if Topham’s wife was ill, you couldn’t blame him for putting her first. ‘I’ll be there at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. Here’s my mobile number if you need to change anything.’

Adam stood holding the phone till Gemma nudged him to switch it off. He explained the details she hadn’t been able to guess from what she overheard.

‘I wonder what he’s found out. There must be something if he’s making all this fuss about handing it over.’

‘We’ll have to wait and see. Probably nothing to get excited about.’

‘So maybe we could go and look round the British Museum now, Dad? If Swindon is only a couple of hours’ drive away we’ve plenty of time to get there if we set off mid-afternoon today.’

‘Are you turning into a culture vulture or what?’ he teased.

‘I’ve always been fascinated by history – not the political stuff, but how ordinary people lived. Mum said you couldn’t make a living from studying such dusty stuff and I should concentrate on the maths and science side, but I don’t enjoy them half as much. She was just trying to do her best for me.’

She still defended her mother, still had reddened eyes some mornings.

He felt as if he was treading on eggs most of the time, but things were improving gradually and Gemma was confiding in him more, so he’d continue tip-toeing around the sensitive areas for as long as was needed.

Being a sole parent, he decided, was the hardest job he’d ever had. It was taking a long time for him to win Gemma’s trust. But he wasn’t giving up. He’d wanted several children but Judith had refused to have any more. He resented that about her, too.

‘You’ll have to share your knowledge of British history with me, Gemma. It’s one of my weak spots.’

He got a glowing smile for that, at least.

‘Let’s see if someone at the hotel can book a room for us in a Swindon hotel for tonight before we go out. I don’t want to be hunting around for accommodation in a strange town after dark.’

‘I thought you grew up in that area.’

‘I did. You don’t stay in hotels in your hometown, though, and anyway things will have changed there, so what do I know about where to stay?’