She would be away again in two weeks. Auschwitz was part of the Polish tour, which she’d never done before and was quite nervous about. It would be a far cry from the lazy Italian sunshine, the decadent hot chocolate, the humorous Carpaccios … and, thankfully, Jared. The intensity of that night would eventually fade from her memory, she was certain. She would never forget, but she would put it firmly behind her and swallow her guilt. What she needed to do now was concentrate on mending her marriage.

The door creaked open and Riley’s face appeared. He trotted over to the bed and nuzzled her face. He always seemed to know when she woke, even though she hadn’t made a sound.

‘OK, OK,’ she said, delving into his warm coat and massaging his neck with her fingers. ‘I know what you want.’

She got out of bed and pulled on jeans and a T-shirt. It was a beautiful morning for a walk, and she felt glad to be back in the temperate English climate. She knew Devan would sleep late, and she was happy for that. Facing him would be a challenge this morning.

‘Hey.’ Devan emerged from the spare bedroom as Connie was taking the washing basket piled with her tour clothes down to the kitchen.

‘Good night?’

He stretched, yawned. ‘Great, yeah. You should have come. Everyone asked after you.’

The smile he gave her as he brushed her arm on the way to the bathroom was more giving than yesterday’s and she smiled back, encouraged, keen to coax him out of his recent truculence, bombard him with sweetness and love. ‘Shall I make coffee?’

When they were seated with it at the kitchen table, she asked, ‘So, who was there last night?’ The garden doors were open, a warm breeze wafting the scent of lilac from the bush by the wall.

‘Just the usual suspects. Gloria popped in. I haven’t seen her in ages. She’s been on a cruise around the Galápagos with her daughter.’ He took a sip of his drink. ‘They snorkelled and hiked … The wildlife is incredible, apparently – giant tortoises, turtles, sealions and iguanas, tons of birds. She says it’s stunning.’ He sighed heavily. ‘I would really love to go one day.’

Despite her determination to make an effort, Connie felt a spurt of irritation at his martyred sigh. But she smiled brightly. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘we should plan a trip.’ The expression on his face implied the wind had been taken out of his sails. ‘Why not?’ she added.

Devan shrugged. ‘You’re working most of the year.’

‘No. As I keep repeating, there are five months when we can go wherever we want.’

Her husband seemed almost disappointed at the unexpected reduction in his firepower. ‘It’ll cost, I imagine,’ he said. ‘Gloria’s not short of a bob or two.’

‘You could investigate.’