‘It never occurred to you to tell me, then. You didn’t think for one moment that I might understand and actually help you? That I might actually care for you?’

No, that never occurred to me.

‘I’m sorry.’

Leanne got up and joined her at the window, slipping an arm round her waist, feeling her stomach. They stared across the garden, not speaking.

‘A baby,’ said Leanne, finally.

‘Yes.’

‘And you’re . . .’

‘Keeping it. Yes.’

‘Wow.’ Leanne walked back to the sofa, sat down and hugged her knees. ‘When you’re really big – you know, just before it’s born – can I paint you?’

Dan summoned Will for a meeting in a pub near the Walker Parker office. Cissé’s payments were seriously overdue, and if money didn’t come through soon Dan could no longer hide the fact from Fiona.

‘The thing is, Dan,’ said Will, staring miserably into his Diet Coke, ‘we’ve got a bit of a cashflow problem.’

‘I know,’ said Dan. ‘I’m afraid that sort of news travels rather fast.’

‘And I don’t think Rivelli is intending to pay up.’

‘But he must.’

‘I can’t make him.’

‘You can. He’s under contract.’

‘It’s . . . complicated.’

‘Does Isabelle know?’

The same old question. ‘She knows what she needs to know.’

‘I see.’ Dan’s brows knotted. ‘So what are we going to do?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Will. ‘I was rather hoping you might have some suggestions.’

‘I can move things around between accounts, I suppose,’ said Dan. ‘Fiona won’t notice. That buys you some time.’

‘Great . . .’

‘So that when the next lot of orders are fulfilled, you can pay us from that.’

‘Once we’ve found a new manufacturer.’

‘What?’

‘Well I’m not going on with Rivelli. How can I?’

‘Has he released you?’

‘No, but . . .’

‘Then how can you sign with anyone else?’

‘He’s in breach of contract, isn’t he?’

‘Yes, technically. But you’d have to take it to court to get out of it. And that would cost a lot of money that you don’t have.’

‘But he can’t just expect us to carry on giving him orders and letting him pocket the money and . . .’ Will suddenly stopped. ‘Why are you looking at me like that, Dan?’

‘He’s done it before.’

‘What?’

‘There was another company, just like you, two or three years ago. Lot of promise, lot of hype, signed with Rivelli, thought they had a golden future.’

‘I don’t like the sound of this.’

‘He bled them dry, kept them under exclusive licence, and every time someone else tried to sign them, for some reason they mysteriously backed off at the last minute.’

‘You mean he threatened them?’

‘I don’t know for sure.’

‘But why? What’s in it for him?’

‘Money. I don’t know. Power.’

‘Shit.’ Will finished his Coke. ‘Why didn’t anybody warn us?’

‘I tried,’ said Dan.