What should I do? Obviously she would go back to the hospital this morning. Leo had finally spoken to Rex and he was on his way home from Australia. He wouldn’t get in till tomorrow afternoon and she was dying to see her younger son, even in such grim circumstances.

She worried, though, that if she stuck around the medical staff would see her as Michael’s closest relative. Yesterday, each time there was a development in his condition, it was to Romy that the nurses referred, not Leo or Anezka. And neither appeared to mind. It seemed churlish, though, when he was so ill, to quibble about who was his next of kin, so she didn’t make a fuss. But she was being drawn inexorably into decisions about his care because technically she was still married to him.

She reached for her mobile. Leo had said he would stay over at a friend’s place nearby in Battersea, his own being in Tottenham, near the old Spurs ground, and a long trek. Her son’s phone went to voicemail and Romy didn’t leave a message. He’s probably still asleep, she thought.

She rang Finch. She had texted him the previous day to tell him to go home, not to wait for her. She had no idea when she would be able to get away.

‘Hey.’ He picked up immediately. ‘How is he?’

‘They aren’t saying much. Or doing much, it seems. Just waiting. It’s twenty-four hours now and he hasn’t improved, but then he hasn’t deteriorated either. They seem to think that’s something.’

‘And how are you, Romy?’

His voice was so tender that she found her eyes filling with tears. She swallowed hard. ‘Don’t be nice to me, Finch. I can’t handle it.’

He laughed softly. ‘Do my best.’

She smiled through her tears. ‘The girlfriend, Anezka, pitched up yesterday. She’s stunning … not that that’s got anything to do with anything. But it’s a ticklish situation, because apparently she dumped Michael just before he had his stroke. So there’s me and her and Leo round the bed … Honestly, I don’t know how to play it.’

‘It must be very upsetting, seeing Michael like that.’

Romy felt her mouth wobble and no longer tried to hold back the tears. ‘It is. It’s horrible, really horrible. I know our marriage is over and all that, but I loved him once, Finch. I loved him for a long time. And he’s just lying there … I’m not even sure he’ll make it and Leo’s in bits … What shall I do?’ The question came out almost as a wail.

‘I suppose the only thing you can do is wait, see how it goes.’