‘Yes. I didn’t go back for seconds. He was a bit self-involved.’

‘Gosh,’ said Nelson, uncertain how to take this, for, while he was still technically a virgin, he did have one sexual escapade to his name, when Pylyp had invited him to fellate him backstage at a Strictly rehearsal and he’d decided to give it a go.

‘So that’s it – Princess Anne, some random girl from Bake Off and Pylyp.’

‘Once or twice I’ve thought about Helen Mirren.’

‘Well, you’re only human.’

‘And Will Young.’

‘The singer?’

‘Yes.’

‘Interesting choice.’

‘And Mark from Westlife.’

‘We’re moving into much more male territory now.’

‘And Emma Stone.’

‘And the closet doors are re-opening to usher you back inside. Look,’ she said. ‘If you trust Dr Oristo, and Dr Oristo trusts this other doctor, then perhaps you should just give her a chance. What’s her name anyway?’

Nelson reached into his pocket and extracted a card. ‘Dr Angela Gosebourne,’ he said, standing up and wandering around the room, picking up some of his sister’s knick-knacks and examining them before putting them down again. The closer he got to her laptop, however, the more anxious Elizabeth became, particularly when he sat down in front of it, staring at the black screen.

‘Do you mind if I look her up online?’ he asked. ‘Dr Gosebourne, I mean. Just to see what she looks like?’

‘Can’t you do it in your own room?’

But he was already fiddling with the trackpad and the screen had come to life. To Elizabeth’s relief, Safari had been closed, but she hadn’t cleared her search history and dreaded to think what might pop up once he started tapping letters into Google.

‘I’ll just be a minute,’ he said, typing away, but she jumped off the bed and, using her hip, knocked him out of the chair, sending him sprawling to the floor.

‘Hey!’ he shouted. ‘What was that for?’

‘Sorry,’ she said, sitting down. ‘But it really only responds to my loving touch. What did you say her name was again? Gosebourne? Spell it for me.’

‘G-O-S-E-B-O-U-R-N-E.’

Elizabeth typed in the name and a website called Psychology Today popped up.

‘There are two Angela Gosebournes, if you can believe it,’ said Elizabeth as Nelson returned to the bed. ‘One is in Melbourne and one is in London.’

‘I think we can safely assume that she’s the London option.’

Elizabeth clicked on the icon and an image of an attractive blonde woman appeared on the screen.

‘Holy moly,’ said Nelson as she turned the laptop to face him.

‘Indeed,’ said Elizabeth. ‘She’s quite the looker. For such an old woman.’

‘Read what it says about her.’