Oli fixes her gaze on him. ‘I know you met with her. You gave her money. Why?’

He puts the cup on the table and takes his wife’s hand. Looks at his feet, clad in dark-green slippers.

‘Professor McCrae?’

‘Yes, yes. I mean, Christ, what do you want me to say?’

‘How about the truth,’ Diana says firmly.

They lock eyes. A long look.

‘Yes, I gave her money.’ Head in his hands.

‘You’ve been giving her money for years,’ says Oli. ‘Why?’

‘Because I was trying to do the right thing!’ Flecks of saliva fly from his mouth. ‘I didn’t know what else to do.’

‘Tell me what happened,’ Oli says.

He moans quietly. ‘She, Nicole … She was impossible.’ He looks to Diana for confirmation, turns back to Oli. ‘She was. In the beginning she was going to help us. We’d become close.’ He holds up his hands. ‘Nothing inappropriate, she was my student, but I guess I admired her. She had spunk. Evelyn did too, although she was more introverted. I enjoyed their company. One night we went to a student play in the city and got a drink afterwards. I told them that Diana and I were having trouble conceiving, that she’d been told she couldn’t have a baby.’

Next to him Diana uncrosses her legs, recrosses them.

‘It felt like it all happened quite quickly.’ Julian looks confused. ‘Nicole did some research and proposed how it might work, what we would pay her and such.’ He glances at Diana again, who nods absently. ‘It felt right. She was so sure of it all. It was as if we’d met her at the perfect moment.’ His forehead crinkles. ‘But then it all went horribly wrong. We became friends. All of us.’ He squeezes Diana’s hand again. ‘Nicole was a real intellectual, wise beyond her years, and I liked talking to her. We discussed waiting until November to go ahead with the procedure—after exams. She came here for dinner once, then she invited us to dinner.’

‘At her house.’

Julian moistens his lips. ‘Yes.’

‘But you didn’t go,’ Oli says to Diana.

‘Diana came down with a migraine,’ Julian answers for her. ‘But I felt like I should still go.’ He pauses. ‘Nicole was very friendly, but the others were clearly uncomfortable that I was there. Even Evelyn seemed a bit frosty. I could tell something odd was going on between the three girls, although it was only the second time I met Alex.’ He hangs his head. ‘Even now I can’t really explain it. It was the most reckless thing I’ve ever done. I was drunk, but I realise that’s no excuse.’

‘What happened?’ Oli presses.

‘After I’d been there a couple of hours, Nicole made it clear she wanted to sleep with me.’

Diana flinches.