“Yes, I did.” Did I? There was plenty that should have been fun, or at least pleasant, but I can’t shake the presence of Fiona from the evening; she is threaded through every scene. But Carrie looks like she’s waiting for more from me, so I add, “Everyone was really nice. Well, maybe not Ali.”

“Yeah, he seems to be an acquired taste.” I smile at her caustic tone. “He’s funny, though, in that biting kind of way. Hey, do you want to know where I got my Jacobite history from?” There’s a sly grin hovering round her mouth as she looks up at me from pouring out the hot water. I nod obligingly. “I don’t know if you went to the loo while we were at the Quaich, but the Ladies is papered with snippets of Scottish history. I read it just before we all sat down.”

I can’t help laughing and she grins back broadly, while trying not to spill the tea she’s handing me. I wonder how many cups she drinks a day; she seems to be permanently either drinking or making one. We sip the hot tea in companionable silence, leaning against the kitchen counter rather than sitting down at the table. If I sat down I might go to sleep right there.

“Jamie seemed quite taken with you.” I look at her in surprise. Jamie? I would have imagined if she had said that about anybody, it would have been Ben; he spoke to me more than Jamie did. As if reading my mind, she says, “Well, Ben too, but I gather from Ali he’s quite the player, so . . .” She shrugs dismissively, and the maroon sweater slips off one shoulder; if Piotr could see her now, he would be even more lost. And Ben, too. “But Jamie was looking at you most intensely.”

She’s looking at me intensely herself, now, trying to gauge my reaction, with no idea that she’s got the wrong end of the stick. Jamie isn’t the least bit interested in me romantically; he’s simply very interested in making sure that I keep his secrets. Well, Fiona’s secret, really. But regardless, she has obviously picked up on something. There must be some kind of undercurrent of collusion between Jamie and me. I look for a way to dissemble. “I rather thought Ben was more interested in you. And Piotr was thoroughly smitten.”