‘No, but I don’t want you thinking it’s been going on for a long time when it hasn’t.’

‘To be honest, I don’t think the timeframe is the issue here. The issue is you sleeping with another man. Or, at least, I assume you do more than go to the cinema.’

‘What—’

‘Who is he?’

‘I was going to tell you, honestly I was. I didn’t want you to find out like this. I can’t believe … I mean, Fergal …’

‘Dublin’s a small place.’

‘I suppose.’ The blotches deepened in colour.

‘Who is he?’ repeated Tom. ‘Does it matter?’

‘We’ve been together for four years. We share a house. I thought we’d go and see the world, and that one day we’d get married. So, yes, it matters.’

For the first time, Nina looked him in the eye. ‘That’s just it, isn’t it, Tom? You have all those plans, but you made them without me. I don’t want to go travelling. I want to concentrate on work. I’ve told you that a million times, but you’ve never listened. I’ve got to make my own choices. I don’t want to wake up when I’m forty and think, Well, I could have followed my own path but I kept my head down and did nothing. Why can’t you get that?’

‘I asked you a question. Any fair person would say I deserve an answer.’

‘You don’t listen and you don’t speak. You get into black moods and refuse to say what’s wrong. You shut yourself off from me. Then, out on the street, you’re all chatter. All “How’s it going, lads?” and “Grand day, girls.” But you’re not the person you pretend to be. It’s just a stupid bullshit image.’

That there was more than a splinter of truth in what she’d said was beside the point. She was trying to shift the ground. To turn him into the culprit. He couldn’t allow that to happen. ‘You can list my faults all day if you like, Nina, but at least I’ve never cheated on you. You’ll have to tell me some time, so why not do it now? Who is he?’

‘You’re still not listening to me.’ She shifted her gaze again. ‘His name is Julian. Julian Heaney.’

Tom rose from his chair. Wine sloshed over the side of the glass and onto his T-shirt. ‘You’re joking, right?’

‘It’s not like you think. He’s not like you think.’