Sylvia chucked the empty carton of chocolate milk in the bin and turned back to the blank piece of paper in her typewriter. She had an hour to write some scintillating lifestyle tips for the ‘at home’ feature. How to keep the flowers in your garden hydrated during a hosepipe ban. A recipe for potato salad to go with barbecued meats. Tips on how to keep cool making love during a heatwave (Valerie’s idea). A tried-and-tested way of giving dry, brittle fingernails a DIY moisture boost. Twice a week for two months, soak your fingers in a bowl of warm olive oil for five minutes… Frankly, her heart wasn’t in it. She wanted to just get up and leave. She yearned to escape London’s suffocating grip and head for the mountain air of Switzerland; away from the heat, from Roger, from her unwanted future. Thankfully, in a few days that’s exactly what she would do.

He rang, as he had every day, in the early afternoon.

‘If you come back, I’ll get rid of that armchair you hate.’

Sylvia smiled down the line despite herself. ‘That’s hardly the point, Jim.’

‘I know, I know. But I don’t know what else to do, Syl. I’ve said I’m sorry for not… understanding. I’m trying, okay? I’m trying to understand why you’re so mad about having our baby. But I need you here. You’re my wife, my pregnant wife, we should be living together.’

‘I can’t talk about this now.’ She stared down the room, watched Valerie standing behind Ellis’s shoulder, leaning over him as she looked at something on his desk. She laughed, put a hand lightly on his arm.

Sylvia knew Jim had nothing to do with Roger finding out about the baby. Take care of yourselves, Valerie had said.

Of course it could only be a woman, a woman with two of her own, who would recognise the signs. And Sylvia couldn’t help but think that Valerie had not only told Roger about her pregnancy, but also encouraged him to take the Warburton interview off her. You’ll be having my job if I’m not careful…

‘You always say that. So when, then?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Meet me after work?’

‘No. I have to pack.’

She could picture him shaking his head, biting his tongue. She knew he wouldn’t dare try and stop her going.

‘My parents are meant to be coming down on Saturday. What do I say?’

‘Just tell the truth. I had to go to Switzerland.’

‘Syl…’