‘That’d be nice,’ said Harry, ‘or I could take you, or we could take each other, or any combination you like. I’m rather off funerals at the moment as you can imagine after that debacle but I would like to hear more about your – about Roger Popham and that funeral. Oh Pauly, I’ve been meaning to phone you, I’ve just been so busy with this Thomas Hardy thing, I’m away filming half the time. When can you make it?’

‘Tonight?’

‘What now?’ He looked at his watch, he’d just got back from the studio and was in the bath. It was 7.30. But Harry liked changes of plan, sudden invitations, movement in his life. ‘OK,’ he said cheerfully, ‘and I’m not called till the afternoon tomorrow, so I won’t have to run home like Cinderella.’

‘Good,’ said Pauline, ‘I’ll pick you up in an hour.’

‘In your posh pink car?’

Pauline laughed. ‘In my posh pink car,’ she said.

*

She told him what more she had learnt about Roger Popham. About the small funeral, about the old lady wearing shiny colours who didn’t want to be called an actor, about the sad credit card bill that Mrs Beale had sent her: a small on-going amount with an off-licence, a couple of train tickets with British Rail, accumulated interest: a total of ninety-three pounds. They were on the second course and the second bottle in a small, expensive Italian restaurant before she said firmly, taking out her lipstick, applying it at the table, ‘Harry darling I understand you were a witness at Terence and Nicky’s wedding.’

Harry was so shocked he dropped his fork on the floor. He picked it up very slowly and Pauline saw that he was composing himself, drawing himself into himself.

She put her hand on his arm urgently, she could not allow him to escape.

‘Darling listen. I know something of the story. He did tell Elvira a little, just recently, but she thinks not all. I—’ she took a deep breath. ‘Harry forgive me, I feel I owe you such a lot but I can’t explain it all now – I need to know, I have to know what happened, I—’ she paused and he remembered how she never spoke about herself, the way her eyes hooded allowing no one else to see. ‘I’m leaving Anthony but I have to know this story first.’

‘You’re leaving Anthony for Terence?’ Harry’s face looked goggle-eyed in amazement. Pauline thought suddenly Oh God it’s Joseph Wain I want but I don’t know any more how people do these things. And of course I’m old now... I don’t expect these things will happen to me.