‘Same as usual,’ said Matthew. ‘And what happened in my absence? Sell anything?’ He knew what the answer was, and waited for her to reply. Kirsty, however, merely gestured to the cover of the catalogue.

‘You seen this?’

Matthew glanced over her shoulder. He wished that she would not sit in his chair so often, but he had lacked the courage to confront her about it. He would just have to try to get into the chair before she could sit in it, and then he could guard it for the rest of the day.

‘Impressionist and post-Impressionist,’ said Kirsty. ‘And not as expensive as you imagine.’

‘But expensive enough,’ said Matthew cautiously.

Kirsty looked up at him and smiled. ‘To make money you have to spend money,’ she said.

Matthew said nothing. The catalogue was open at a Vuillard picture of a woman sitting on a sofa.

‘That’s a lovely painting,’ Matthew said. ‘So peaceful. I love Vuillard.’

Kirsty seemed pleased with this response. ‘We could buy it, you know. It’s coming up next week in London. We could buy it and then resell it here.’

Matthew frowned. ‘I don’t go in for those really expensive paintings,’ he said.

Kirsty smiled again. ‘That could change, you know. Come on, Matthew, let’s get things going round here.’

Matthew looked at the estimate: eighty to one hundred thousand pounds. He felt flushed, as if he had been given some sort of challenge; or it could have been the effect of Kirsty’s jeans. They are so tight, he thought.

22. More About Baden-Powell

For reasons which he could not quite understand, Bertie had been allowed by his mother to remain a member of the First Morningside Cub Scout Pack. His original assumption had been that his father, who had supported his membership, would be defeated by his mother, who was vigorously opposed to what she described as a ‘junior paramilitary organisation of dubious pedigree’. His father was usually defeated – on everything – but on this issue his view had somehow prevailed, with the result that Bertie was allowed to continue his Friday night trips to the Episcopal Church Hall at Holy Corner. There the pack met under the encouraging but watchful eye of Rosemary Gold, cub mistress and Akela.

There were numerous grounds upon which Irene objected to the cub scouts, but at the root of her position was a strong antipathy towards the founder of the movement, Robert Baden-Powell. ‘What a ridiculous man,’ she said, when she found Bertie reading an account of the original scout’s life. ‘Look at his stupid shorts. One has to be deeply suspicious of a man who feels the need to dress up like that. How absurd.’