He was being very attentive – refilling her glass and checking her food had been cooked to her liking. Their conversation flowed and became easier with every glass of wine. Chris had ordered a bottle of Merlot, having first checked with her that she liked red wine. She did and they discovered they had similar tastes in wine, as they did in coffee. He was sipping his wine slowly because he was driving, so Jan was drinking far more than him. It was many months since she’d had more than one glass of wine in an evening and she knew she was talking a lot. But Chris didn’t seem to mind. He was encouraging her, nodding in agreement and laughing at her jokes. She was making the most of it, as on many days recently she hadn’t had anyone to talk to apart from Tinder.

They’d finished the main course and the waiter had cleared away their plates and left the dessert menu. Neither of them had looked at it yet as they were too busy talking. Jan was now entertaining Chris with tales of Tinder’s antics.

‘He can be so naughty at times,’ she said, taking another sip of wine.

‘Why, what’s he done now?’ Chris asked, smiling encouragingly.

‘His latest mischief was in the spare bedroom – you know, where Camile has stored the boxes of her belongings? I couldn’t have closed the door properly because this morning he came downstairs, guilt written all over his face, carrying a little white bootee in his mouth. I knew it wasn’t mine,’ she laughed. ‘So I went upstairs and found Camile’s belongings all over the floor. Perhaps he was missing her and could smell her on them. I don’t know. I’ve repacked them, but I couldn’t really tell him off because he gave me one of those adoring looks, the picture of innocence.’

Glass in hand, Jan paused, expecting Chris to be laughing as he’d been doing at her other anecdotal stories. But he wasn’t.

‘What sort of bootee?’ he asked.

‘Like a baby’s or a large doll’s,’ Jan said. ‘I put it back with the other one and a little matching outfit.’

Chris paused. ‘Was there anything else in the box?’ he asked, his expression serious.

‘Just a photograph album. I’ve repacked everything. I’ll make sure Tinder doesn’t get in there again.’

But Chris was still looking at her sombrely, pensive and deep in thought. Their conversation seemed to have dried up, although Jan didn’t know why. He was frowning now. Why? What was he thinking about? She finished her glass of wine.

‘Dogs can be mischievous,’ she added.

‘Yes, I suppose they can. Make sure the door to that bedroom is kept closed in future. Camile would be upset if she knew Tinder had got in there and destroyed her personal items.’