Devan did not immediately reply, and Connie tensed. But when he did speak, his voice was gentle. ‘For me, too. I still feel a bit raw. But hopeful, at last.’ He sat up straighter, seemed suddenly determined. ‘Listen, about the dreaded R word. Let’s just leave things as they are, see what happens.’ He put his hand over hers. ‘I know how much you love your job and there’s no way I’m going to browbeat you, Con. The last thing I need is a resentful wife!’ The final sentence was accompanied by a broad grin.

She laughed. She knew she should feel vindicated, relieved, grateful that the logjam of hostility had finally been freed. But it wasn’t that simple. There was her gross betrayal … There was Jared.

‘Where did you go this afternoon?’ Connie asked Devan. It was dusk and a beautiful evening as they strolled through the village with Riley, the horizon beyond the houses shot with a luminous raspberry gold that made her gaze in awe. Devan took her hand as they walked, but she didn’t feel entirely comfortable.

She’d been increasingly on edge since Devan’s announcement. She knew more than ever that she must forget Jared now.

Carrying on an affair during a serious rift in her marriage was bad enough, but might be considered understandable by some. Now that he’d started to re-engage with her, though, it was unthinkable. This is what I’ve longed for, isn’t it? she chided herself. To see the love in Devan’s eyes again. And it was. But it was hard instantly to push Jared from her mind, or the confusion of the previous year, just because Devan was so unexpectedly onside again.

Now Devan said, ‘Oh, out and about. I took Riley for a walk, then I dropped in on Bill for a cuppa and a chat. He’s after a nineteen-seventies Alfa now.’ She glanced at him as he spoke, detecting something oddly shifty in his tone. But he was staring at the sunset. He turned back and smiled, and she decided she’d imagined it. ‘With all that’s been going on in my head, I’d forgotten you were coming in today.’

They walked on, the air cooling as the sky faded to navy. Connie shivered and pulled her cardigan round her body.

‘Tell me about Poland,’ Devan said. ‘I want to hear all about Auschwitz and Kraków.’

It’s been an age since he’s shown any interest in my tours, she thought. But although he was finally making an effort she found she couldn’t enjoy it as much as she wished to.