He looked up, his expression not as hostile as she’d feared. For a moment he didn’t reply, just stared at her. Then he said, equally softly, ‘I’ve missed you too.’

Connie wanted to cry. She hadn’t expected that. She’d been bracing herself for something altogether more bitter and reproachful. A flood of apologies sat on the tip of her tongue but she held back, knowing the pointlessness of just repeating what she’d said so often before.

‘I’ve been trying to work out if I deserved it.’ Devan spoke into the silence. ‘I know things weren’t great between us these last two years. But was there something else, further back? Something I did that you never mentioned?’

‘Of course not,’ she said quickly, surprised he should ask.

‘So … if not, why did you think it was OK to behave in that way … destroy all we had together, so carelessly?’ His frown was bewildered. ‘It was just a bad patch, Connie. Most marriages have them at some point.’

She couldn’t look at him. His reasoning, although not the whole story, was painfully valid.

‘Please tell me,’ he went on, when she didn’t immediately answer. ‘I need to understand.’

Connie sighed. Then, selecting her words warily, she did her best. ‘Why does anyone have an affair, Devan? I can’t explain without sounding like I’m excusing my actions, which I’m not. But, as you said, we were in a mess at the time. I suppose I felt detached from you, upset at how you were treating me … and flattered that someone else found me attractive.’ She gave a small shrug. ‘Those tours are like a bubble, not real life.’ She stopped. If she told him the real truth, told him how intensely she had desired Jared, she would hurt him beyond repair.

‘You know …’ Devan seemed to be thinking out loud ‘… I almost get how you could be lured into bed once. Almost. A drunken night, a foreign hotel room, some creep coming on strong, flattering you. And, if so, I need never have known.’ He put his glass down and got up, walking towards the fireplace where he leaned on the mantelpiece with both hands, staring down into the flames. Then he turned to her again. ‘But more than once, Connie?’ His eyes were black with distress as he threw his hands into the air. ‘I feel like the biggest fool on the planet. Dr Mac, the highly respected village doctor for three decades, just a pathetic cuckold.’ He appeared to shiver at the thought.