Again, he touched her hand. ‘You’ve no reason to feel bad. What you said about the night of the party? I’ve been asking myself the same question.’

Chapter 34

If there was no good time for the next meeting in Tom’s diary, this was definitely the worst possible day. The last thing he needed was Conor in full-on crusade mode, and he feared that was what he was going to get. Tess had warned him. ‘He’s gone mad,’ she’d said. ‘He won’t listen to reason.’ Her comments had been an addendum to their main conversation. She’d called to harangue him about a colleague, although what business it was of hers he didn’t know. She didn’t even live in the bloody country. ‘It’s all on the Guardian website,’ she’d said, as if that was the definitive word on the matter.

‘I don’t give two hoots about the Guardian website,’ Tom replied. That was true. It was the deluge of criticism at home that hurt. Even so, he was taken aback by Tess’s angry tone. Normally she sounded so laid-back, you’d think she was calling from a hammock.

‘Seriously, Tom,’ she said, ‘the days of coming out with that sort of shite are over. Or if they’re not, they should be. You can’t tell victims they’ve got to share the blame. I trust you’re going to give him the sack.’

‘Strictly speaking, it’s not up to me. I’m not in charge of the government.’

‘Pfft. He’s an affront to women. And he’s got to go. Today.’

Tess’s call had been prompted by one of Tom’s independent colleagues, a moon-faced Carlow publican named Cyril Dinan, or Cyril Dinosaur as the papers now called him. As a junior minister, Cyril’s talents were limited. He was, though, blind to his own mediocrity, which was of enormous help. He was also frighteningly good at getting people to vote for him.

Cyril had been bumbling along until he’d agreed to do an interview with a current affairs magazine. The interviewer had asked about unemployment. Everything would be tip-top, said Cyril, if more married women were content to stay at home and mind their children. It was no surprise there were so many badly behaved kids when their mothers weren’t there to discipline them.

It got worse. The minister of state for lifelong learning went on to claim that young women were drinking too much and wearing too little. ‘And they’re surprised when men won’t leave them alone,’ he said. ‘You can’t lead a man on, then claim you bear no responsibility for the consequences.’