She couldn’t tell him about Jared. Not when she was about to end it. ‘It’s Devan stuff,’ she muttered. ‘Listen, I need to pee,’ she added, opening the door to the cloakroom. Neil frowned, but she knew he wasn’t going to push her. Not here, anyway.

‘Coffee at Angie’s soonest,’ he said.

‘I’m going away tomorrow,’ she replied, as she shut the door.

The meal was over. A ripe, runny Époisses with charcoal crackers had followed the lamb, then strawberries and cream. Connie had tried to eat normally, but her stomach churned at the garlicky potatoes, the rich, herby meat, the pungent cheese. She’d noticed Neil watching closely in the candlelight as she pushed food around her plate, but there was nothing she could do about it, except smile and smile. Luckily, she didn’t have to say much, just let the others carry the evening with their usual amusing banter. By anybody’s standards, it was a lively, luxurious, loving party and Connie wished she could fully appreciate it.

They walked home, Devan once more clutching her hand, his tipsy laughter loud in the silent village street as he recounted his secret phone calls with Jill about the surprise dinner, and how Connie had nearly rumbled him the night before. But she wasn’t really listening. She knew he would want to make love to her when they got home – it was their anniversary, after all. And she wanted to show him how much she loved him. He’d gone to a lot of trouble arranging the evening – driving Jill nuts, apparently, in his need for perfection. It had to be actual champagne – no Prosecco this time – and the very best salt-marsh lamb, cheese at the perfect ripeness, the most succulent strawberries sourced from a local organic farm. He’d insisted on paying for everything, too, although Bill had begged to contribute. She had been very moved by his determination to please her.

The evening was a salutary reminder. It told her, loud and clear, that her marriage was her priority, not negotiable. She would definitely not be seeing Jared in Inverness. Or anywhere else, ever again. What she had with Devan – warts and everything else included – was way too precious to compromise.

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