He tried to shut out the visions and voices by concentrating on the painting. Gaugin’s nude lay on her hip, gazing with such disinterest that it began to feel directed at him. Your problems are unimportant, she seemed to tell him. Men have been fighting wars since time began.

At dinner, Sam and Stephen talked about their shares in Courtaulds. The company was reaching new heights in profitability.

‘Change your mind and come and work with me?’ asked Sam.

Stephen shook his head and Sam’s forehead puckered with soft furrows. Being part of the family firm had never appealed to Stephen. He wanted to be his own man. He also knew that he wasn’t capable of holding down any kind of job at the moment; he couldn’t bear being trapped in a box of an office all day, feeling the walls close in.

‘The only job that has come up recently I found halfway interesting was a partnership in Lloyds,’ he said. ‘But when I thought about it, I decided I didn’t want it after all.’ He swallowed a spoonful of lobster bisque. ‘I’m in no hurry. The right opportunity will come along.’ The soup was creamy and intense in flavour. Sam and Lil employed a celebrated French chef, but Stephen wasn’t hungry; he felt like gagging. Sam shot him a quick, concerned look.

Pushing his bowl away, Stephen leant back in his chair and watched Ginie talking to Lil. Her face was animated, her slim arms flung out, gesticulating.

‘It’s been wonderful getting to know you both,’ Ginie was saying. ‘Stephen and I would love it if you came to dinner at our house. How about next week or the week after?’

Lil rested her soup spoon against the side of her bowl. ‘I’m afraid we’re fully booked.’

The pendulum of the grandfather clock swung back and forth, and a log tumbled in the fireplace, sending up a shower of fine sparks as Lil proceeded to reel off a list of parties she and Sam were going to. They were the kind of socialite functions that Stephen knew Ginie desperately wanted to be invited to. He drained his glass of burgundy – he had finished several already. He understood that Ginie had her own demons and she’d hoped that marrying him would banish them.

‘Once the children break up, I shall have even less time. You’ll see what it’s like when you have your own,’ Lil finished.

Stephen winced and glanced at Ginie, but her face was expressionless. If he could get her pregnant, it might help them both to overcome their trauma. He hadn’t told anyone about the pregnancy in Courmayeur that turned out to be a false alarm. It was still early days, though. They were both young enough, and he was full of hope that one day. . .