Sylvia felt a guilty twinge of relief. Perhaps Roger’s grumpiness towards her wasn’t personal but simply a reflection of the circumstances in his own life.

‘Well,’ Diane said, when Janice and Marnie had sailed off into the throng and they were left alone on the table, ‘this has been fascinating.’

Sylvia smiled. ‘Fleet Street gossip. Par for the course.’

Diane finished her glass. Her pupils were wide, her skin slightly flushed. ‘I just love it,’ she said. ‘All this. The buzz, the gossip, the energy. I don’t know how you can bear to give it up.’

‘I don’t have a lot of choice.’ Sylvia gestured to her belly. Sometimes the baby elbowed her in the bladder so hard it made her gasp. ‘But it won’t be for long.’

Diane nodded, and that could have been the end of it. But then the younger girl’s lips formed into a thin line, her eyes creased at the corners and her head leant to one side in what was, Sylvia realised with a jolt of shock, an unmistakable gesture of pity. A gesture that said Diane was sorry for her, but that she thought her a fool, and she would make the most of her foolishness by stepping smoothly into her shoes. At least that’s what it felt like.

And that was when Sylvia knew she had to do something. She couldn’t just slope off on maternity leave with her job in the clutches of an eager Cambridge graduate without making some sort of grand parting gesture. She had to find a final story. A story that would make an impact and leave a lasting impression so forceful that Roger would be begging to have her back.

And she knew what it had to be.

A story that had been brewing in her head ever since returning from Switzerland. A story that would highlight a cause and potentially bring some justice to a vulnerable young woman.

When Roger came back from a meeting the next morning, she knocked on his office door.

‘Can we talk?’ She poked her head into the office and instantly regretted it. The combined pong of body odour and cigarettes nearly made her retch. She wondered if he’d spent the night here.

‘It’s not the best bloody time right now, Tallis, but go on then, be quick.’