Sadie leads me towards another group of people, making introductions, names spilling from her lips as I try frantically to remember who is who, and what their relationship is to Rupert, fighting back a wave of anxiety at being thrown in at the deep end. As I half listen to someone – I think it is a friend of Miles’s father – talk about rising share prices for some company or another, I find myself wondering about how Caro felt when she was first introduced into this circle of friends. I doubt that Caro would have felt overwhelmed, the way I do. Feeling eyes on me, I look up to see Rupert watching me, as Miles continues to talk at him. He smiles and drops me a slow wink that shoots a lightning bolt straight to my groin. I look away, a smirk playing on my lips as I try to focus on what the man next to me is saying.

‘Sorry, say that again?’ Sadie still hasn’t returned with my drink and I twirl the empty glass in my hand.

‘I was just saying, it’s nice to see Rupert out again. We haven’t seen much of him, not since the night of his party.’

‘His party?’ I am still distracted, my eyes sliding back to where Rupert stands now with his back to me, his shoulder muscles outlined through his shirt.

‘Yes, the party he and Caro held that night.’

I open my mouth, about to ask what he means about ‘that night’ but before I can say anything, a tipsy Amanda stumbles over her own feet slightly as she approaches us. ‘There you are! Oops… I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’ Her eyes go to my empty glass. ‘Oh, Caro, you’re empty. Let’s go and top you up.’

There is a deathly silence as Sadie, who has finally returned with a fresh champagne bottle, and I realize Amanda’s Freudian slip before she does.

‘I’m just going to pop inside and use the bathroom.’ I walk away quickly, trying to quell the sick feeling that settles in my stomach. Maybe she didn’t really mean to say it – she has been knocking the champagne back pretty quickly, and the canapes Sadie has provided don’t really fill you up – but that doesn’t stop me feeling off kilter. Neither does the fleeting hint of a smile that I thought I saw cross Amanda’s lips before she spoke.