James, through all the guff and posturing, was actually a decent person, Romy knew – he would have done anything to help, had she asked – but he was not the easiest man to talk to, even though she’d known him for decades, unless the subject was the law.

‘Are you and Michael –’ James was interrupted by the arrival of the ward staff nurse at Michael’s bedside. He looked relieved. ‘Better leave you to it,’ he said. ‘I’ll pop in another day.’ And he was off, leaving the flowers on the bed, without having said a word to his ailing friend.

The nurse cleared her throat. ‘Perhaps we could step outside for a moment,’ she said in a low voice.

They stood in the corridor. Staff Nurse Weeks had her arms crossed over her uniform. She was dark-haired, neat and businesslike, her friendliness slightly forced as if she considered this part of her job a chore.

‘It’s early days, Mrs Claire, but I wanted to touch base with you about Michael’s rehabilitation.’ When Romy, caught off guard, did not instantly reply, she went on in her clipped voice, ‘As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s a lot to organize. Obviously Michael’s not ready to go home quite yet. But we try not to keep stroke patients in hospital any longer than necessary. We find they do much better in familiar surroundings, as long as they have proper support.’

Romy felt a shaft of panic. ‘I’m not really the one responsible for that,’ she said. ‘Michael and I aren’t together. We haven’t been for a while.’

She seemed taken aback. ‘Oh. No one mentioned this to me.’ She paused. ‘So will your son be responsible for Michael when he goes home? Because we need to check there’s someone arranging his care package for when the time comes. Such as taking charge of his finances while he’s incapacitated. I’m sure the family has thought of this, but he’ll need his accounts monitoring, his bank informed and his bills paid until he can do it himself. Plus someone will have to oversee the various aids and equipment he’ll need in his current situation and make sure there’s always someone present – he can’t be left alone. Is this something –’

‘He has a partner,’ Romy interrupted, although she knew as she said it that this might very well not be the case any more. But she was uneasy about steaming in and potentially treading on Anezka’s toes. Can she be totally sure about splitting up when Michael is too incapacitated to have a proper conversation about the row they had? ‘I think you should talk to her,’ she added.

Weeks nodded. ‘Is she coming in today?’