‘Sorry,’ I pass him what’s left in the brandy glass, ‘I lost track of time. What do you think?’

‘It’s great.’ Rupert gives me a thin smile, and I think how tired he looks. ‘You don’t have to though; I’m happy living with it like a jungle, I told you that.’

‘Ha. I’d never have guessed.’ I check my watch. ‘Yikes. I really am going to make us late.’

I hurry upstairs and into the shower, relaxing at last now that Rupert is home and any last remnants of our argument seem to have been forgotten. Riffling through my wardrobe I take great care with the dress I choose. I did do some shopping with my black Am Ex, choosing three dresses, and now I select the one that is least like any of Caro’s, no longer hanging in the wardrobe next door but bagged up and delivered to the local charity shop. I deliberately delivered it to one of Angus Beaton’s shops, sure that Caro would have been pleased with the idea.

I pick out a slinky, midnight blue dress, cut much lower than anything Caro owned. I twist my hair up into a chignon, a few strands falling artfully around my face. As I push tiny gold hoops into my ears, my gaze falls on Caro’s jewellery box, still sitting at the very back of the dressing table, behind the huge mirror. I pull it towards me, noticing the light sprinkling of dust on the top. Glancing towards the en-suite door, where steam escapes and I can hear the hiss of the shower running, reassuring myself that Rupert is not going to walk in on me, I open the lid, letting out a small gasp as I drink in what lies there.

Gold necklaces, earrings, a fat, glistening ruby on a square gold setting – I pick that one up and slide it onto my finger where it spins, far too big for my slender hand – a brooch, not dissimilar to the one Rupert bought me for Christmas, only instead of a dragonfly it is a bee, the white of its stripes made from diamonds. These things must be worth a fortune, and I imagine, just for a moment, being a woman who owns thousands of pounds’ worth of jewellery. I imagine my mother’s face if I rocked up at her house wearing this ruby ring, the bee brooch attached to my coat.

‘Em?’ Rupert’s voice shouts to me through the door of the en suite and I hear the shower switch off.