His face became still and his eyes flickered away from mine. “Yes, I think so,” he said. “But I’m not sure whether we’re flying together. I’ll have to check her flight time.”

I think that was the first time Harry had ever told me a direct lie. Though how would I know? But this was a lie; I knew it.

•   •   •

I worked hard all day but I couldn’t stop thinking about Harry. Why was I just lying down and taking this? I was his wife and I didn’t want to lose him. I looked up at the clock. It was nearly four. Time to act. I would go to Paris, too. If I did that, nothing could happen between Harry and Ruby. I knew I’d feel a fool, gate-crashing their little party, but what was the alternative?

I took my laptop from the office; I would work in the hotel room. I drove home and quickly packed an overnight bag. Minutes later I was in my car, heading toward Manchester airport.

I hurried from the car park to the terminal building. The check-in line was pretty long and I stood against a wall, away from the crowd, waiting for Harry to arrive. I didn’t want to buy a ticket until I was certain he was definitely taking that flight. I knew he wouldn’t have arrived before me; he was never early for anything.

I waited and waited, scouring the crowds for Harry. I didn’t want to send him a message, I wanted to surprise him. Deep down I knew he’d be shocked, rather than surprised, but I’d gone past caring about that. The line at the check-in grew shorter. I looked at my watch impatiently. It was now after seven o’clock, prime time for traffic problems around Manchester. He needed to get a move on. I took my passport and credit card out of my bag, realizing I should get a ticket now rather than wait for Harry to turn up. If he only just got there on time I might be too late to buy one. I went over to the ticket office and stood in the short queue there. The woman in front of me had emptied her handbag onto the desk in an effort to find her passport and I turned away, exasperated.