‘Come here.’ He pulls me to my feet, twirling me in my tight-fitting dress. ‘God, do we have to go out? Miles won’t even notice if we don’t turn up.’ He nibbles at my neck and my knees go weak.

‘Yes, we do. Miles has booked some place in town, and the cab will be here any minute.’ I kiss him back, already feeling better now that he’s home, and spin away towards the mirror to fix my hair. I watch him in the mirror as he smooths his hair down, fastens his shirt buttons and think again how lucky I am to be here, in this house, with him.

My good feeling doesn’t last too long, though. I don’t mention the call from Angus until we are in the cab on the way to the restaurant, and only then because he asks if I am OK.

‘Em, is everything OK? You’re very quiet.’ Rupert reaches for my hand, fiddling with the pair of diamond cut rings – one for engagement, one for wedding – that adorn my third finger.

‘Not really,’ I turn and give him a thin smile. I thought I had managed to convince myself that it didn’t matter, but clearly it does. To me, anyway. ‘I heard from Angus Beaton today.’

‘Angus Beaton?’ Rupert says, pulling his fingers away. ‘What are you doing talking to Angus Beaton?’

‘The Children’s Trust?’ I say hesitantly. ‘You donate to them every month, their letters are always sitting in the post pile. I went to see Angus, to see if I could start volunteering with him, but for some weird reason he said no. I did mention it to you when we went out for dinner. You said it was OK.’

Rupert is silent for a long moment, and I can feel the beginnings of a headache thumping at my temples. ‘Well,’ he says, eventually, ‘it’s not like you need to work anyway, is it? Probably for the best.’

‘It’s not about working, Rupert,’ I say testily, a buzz of irritation vibrating under my skin. ‘I just don’t understand why he turned me down. I mean, I’m offering him my time and my skills, for free – at first anyway – and they are a charity, for goodness’ sake. You’d think that they’d snap my hand off for offering, especially since…’ I stop, turning to look out of the window. ‘I thought Angus and I got on really well, the interview was excellent. I’m just disappointed, I suppose. I was looking forward to having something to do every day.’