Molly straightened with a dustpan filled with glass in one hand, rubbing her head with the other. ‘You were lucky that was all you heard,’ she said, turning to smile at Amelia. ‘I’ve barely spoken to you. Let me get rid of this and we can have a natter.’

A few seconds later, with a quick look around to make sure everyone had their glass full, Molly gripped her friend’s elbow and led her from the room. ‘Come into the study,’ Molly said, pushing the door open, and waving her in. ‘I need five minutes to recoup my strength.’

‘It’s getting a bit rambunctious.’ Amelia pulled a chair from under a desk, sat into it and looked around. ‘What are you going to do with this room now that the kids have left?’

Molly frowned. ‘They’ll be back.’ She ignored the raised eyebrow that was her friend’s only comment. ‘Anyway, tell me what you’ve been up to?’ She tilted her head. ‘Love your dress, by the way.’

‘This old thing?’ Amelia ran her fingers over the fabric before laughing. ‘I bought it last week. It’s pretty fab, isn’t it?’

‘Fab,’ Molly agreed. She and Amelia had met in university and they’d maintained an erratic friendship over the years. Amelia had married her older hotel manager boyfriend, Tristan, shortly after graduating and spent the next several years following him from one far-flung city to the other. Only a rare meeting when she was in the UK, the occasional long email and in recent years short WhatsApp messages had kept the friendship alive.

‘How are the renovations going?’ Molly asked. Six months ago, when Tristan had retired, they’d bought a two-storey apartment in Pembridge Square Gardens. Molly had had serious house envy when she’d seen it.

‘Almost finished,’ Amelia said with a toss of her expertly-highlighted blonde hair. ‘Everything should be done by the end of next month; we’ll have a party to celebrate.’

‘Great,’ Molly said. ‘I think I prefer going to them rather than giving them.’

‘You give good parties. Free-flowing alcohol always helps.’ Amelia looked at her from under her lashes. ‘I met Stuart Mercer recently at a party in the Hong Kong embassy. He’s an attractive man.’ She leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial whisper, ‘He’s been giving you some strange looks. Is there something you’re not telling me?’

‘Don’t be silly! He struck me as being lonely, that’s all, and I was about to suggest setting him up with one of my single friends when that idiot Brenda made such a drama out of dropping a glass.’

Amelia arched a plucked eyebrow. ‘It looked to me like he was more interested in you, he was certainly staring at your ass when you bent down.’

‘You always did have a vivid imagination,’ Molly said, shaking her head.