‘Well it all points to him doesn’t it, what else could have happened? He told the police she’d passed out and he left and someone else must’ve done it, who’s going to believe that twaddle? This’ll fuck his career won’t it, rapists just aren’t politically correct at the moment.’ And he laughed shortly, with a kind of satisfaction. ‘They drag on these trials don’t they, I’ll be glad when I don’t have to see Terence on the front page every day, oh look at that hat I’m wearing will you!’ He put his hand inside Pauline’s blouse.

For a split second he felt she had flinched away from him. But then, in that same second almost, she moved, leant companionably against him, laughed at the hat which was indeed unbecoming.

In their bed he pulled her above him as usual, grasped her buttocks, pulled her against his groin as he thrust upwards. She rode him, the way he always wanted it.

The phone rang at her desk in the corner of the bedroom. ‘Leave it,’ said Anthony, thrusting inside her again and again, leave it leave it leave it, in time to his thrusts, leave it leave it leave it.

The answering machine clicked on.

Darling, it’s Elvira, we’ve seen the early editions of the Sunday papers, will you phone me?

Anthony pushed upwards once more inside his wife, felt the release, heard with a part of his mind a little sigh above his head, fell back exhausted. He waited till his breathing calmed. God he was tired.

‘What the fuck is Elvira doing phoning in the middle of the night?’

Pauline lay back across his bent knees, she didn’t speak for a moment, he felt her breathing in and out in and out. Then with a jerk she pulled herself upright, grasping his arms to help herself upwards. In the lamp-light from the bedside table he could see, as he opened his eyes for a moment, that her eyes glittered as if, if he didn’t know her better, there were tears.

‘Stu hasn’t been well,’ she said. ‘Maybe there’s bad news about his business in the papers.’ She pulled her long naked body away from his, his now flaccid penis fell out; she swung her legs over the side of the bed and padded across the floor to take her dressing gown from behind the door.

‘I’ll phone from downstairs so’s not to disturb you,’ she said. ‘Go to sleep.’