“What did you see?” Arthur said. “What did you see when you touched me?” Lizzie couldn’t read his tone either but his words alone made her shiver.

“There’s no point pretending it doesn’t happen,” Arthur said, when she didn’t immediately reply. “We both know it does.”

“OK,” Lizzie said. She cleared her throat. “It’s just so...weird.”

“Granted,” Arthur said drily. “Perhaps we can have a chat about it sometime. For now, though, what did you see?”

Lizzie paused for a moment, analysing the emotions she had sensed in him and trying to form them into words. “You’re looking for Johnny,” she said. “He’s...disappeared. You think he might be trying to find Dudley. You’re afraid for him.” She could feel that fear, visceral and raw. Arthur knew exactly how vulnerable and alone his brother was feeling and he wanted desperately to protect him. Lizzie understood that urgency and envied the closeness of the bond that had produced it. “You’re hoping Dudley might know where he is,” she added. “That’s why you’re here.”

Arthur nodded slowly. “Spot on,” he said. “That really is uncanny.”

A waiter brushed past them, looking curiously at the two of them. “Come on,” Lizzie said. “Dudley’s probably in the VIP bar downstairs. It’s where he tends to hang out. Though I doubt he’ll be of much help,” she added, remembering what Dudley had said about Johnny earlier. “He and Johnny don’t exactly get on, do they?”

“I’ve checked everywhere else I can think of,” Arthur said grimly, and again Lizzie felt the razor-sharp edge of anxiety beneath his words. “Dudley’s my last hope. Not that I expected to have to accost him in a club. Not two days after Amelia died.” Once again, Lizzie could sense the anger and disgust in him, held under tight control. “I had to search the celebrity gossip online to find out where he was likely to be. Can you believe that?” He broke off. “Yes, of course you can.” He shook his head sharply. “You probably came here to spend the evening with him.”

“Less of the judging please,” Lizzie said. “I’m helping you, remember?” She didn’t even bother trying to explain to Arthur why she was looking for Dudley herself. “Let’s hope he knows something,” she said. “And that you won’t end up punching him.”

She saw Arthur smile. “I have more self-control than that, and certainly more than Dudley has.”

Lizzie didn’t doubt it. “You really don’t like Dudley, do you?” she said. “By which I mean you hate him.” The power of the antagonism she sensed in him shocked her. She knew Dudley would hardly be Arthur’s favourite person but it felt as though there was something very dark and complicated here.

Arthur raised his brows. “You don’t need to be a mind reader to know that,” he said curtly.

They went down the white staircase, past the twirling statue of a mermaid on a unicorn, into the aquatic-themed cellar bar. A few people nodded and called out a greeting to Lizzie. People were looking at Arthur as they passed, probably because he was so good-looking but also, Lizzie suspected, because they were wondering where they had seen him before. Most of them wouldn’t remember. The world of celebrity had a high turnover.