And why had she been unwilling to settle out of court? Because she considered her husband’s offer to be risible. There was a ripple of interest around the court; Janet had gone on the offensive. Yes, she said, £200,000 a year plus the house and the son’s trust fund might seem like a lot of money to some people, but it would not go very far when one considered the kind of lifestyle to which she was accustomed. By the time she had paid for staff, cars, clothes, gardeners, holidays for her and the boy, there would be very little left . . .

Did she believe that her husband could afford more? Yes, she most certainly did.

Rivelli heard it all without betraying an iota of emotion. Occasionally he whispered to John Ferguson, who passed notes to Christine. It was all very businesslike.

Greenbaum finished. Over to Christine for cross-examination.

‘Mrs Rivelli, how old is your son?’

‘Twenty-eight.’

‘And he lives with you at home, is that correct?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Is he in any form of education?’

‘He needs a lot of care . . .’

‘But is he going to college? Or doing a course in something?’

‘No . . .’

‘And yet you’re claiming a substantial amount for his education. Some hundred thousand pounds a year.’

‘He needs to be looked after all the time.’

‘Which, I assume, is why you are claiming a salary for two, sorry, three part-time carers.’

‘Quite.’

‘Who take care of him at home?’

‘And take him out on trips.’

‘I see. He leads a busy and active life, then.’

‘Yes.’

‘I wonder how he manages to fit in this very expensive education as well?’

‘As I said . . .’

‘And then there are the holidays. How many holidays do you take a year, on average, would you say?’

‘Three or four.’

‘For how long?’

‘The normal sort of time. A few weeks.’

‘A few weeks.’ Christine made a play of looking at her notes, although she had no need to. ‘Four weeks, last year, in the south of France, followed by a further three weeks a couple of months later in Florida. A fortnight in Greece, and another fortnight in Andalucía just before Christmas. I believe it’s lovely at that time of year.’

‘Yes, it is.’

‘And you took your son with you, I assume.’

‘Some of the time. At other times he remained at home.’

‘I see. With his carers.’

‘Quite.’

‘Did he come with you to Florida?’

‘Yes, he did.’

‘In term time? That must have been inconvenient.’

There was a murmur in the public gallery – a sound that Christine loved. The sound of the tide turning.

‘It was important that he came with me. He loves waterskiing.’

‘Waterskiing! That’s an expensive hobby, isn’t it?’

‘He’s always done it.’

‘Every time you go to Florida?’

‘Yes.’

‘I see.’ That was enough – the seed was sown. Regular holidays in Florida, for the waterskiing. It looked greedy.