And he had been lying, Will knew that for sure. He’d said, ‘I hardly knew her,’ said he’d never been on a date with her, but Will had now seen the photograph in the Big House. Guy had been with Alice at Camille’s party. If Guy had nothing to hide, then why would he have lied?

As Will was dressing, the phone rang. It was Ciara again. Saoirse’s older sister was a lawyer, a formidably intelligent woman who didn’t suffer fools. She had a way of narrowing her eyes when she spoke that made Will feel deeply uncomfortable, as if she could see straight into the darkest chasms of his soul. Will followed Finn’s example and was careful about what he said to Ciara, aware that any inconsistencies would be noted and used against him at a later date. He picked up the phone, intending to divert the call to voicemail but accidentally answered. He stared at the screen, horrified. Distantly, Ciara’s voice chirped: ‘Will? Will?’

Will raised the phone carefully to the side of his face as if afraid it might bite him. ‘Hi, Ciara,’ he said tentatively. ‘How’s the patient?’

‘Not great,’ said Ciara, her voice terse. ‘She’s sleeping. I’m calling so we can talk frankly.’

Will said: ‘Oh.’ He paced the length of the room, three whole steps, and back again.

‘Is it over with you and her, Will? As far as you’re concerned, is it over? Because if it is, stop messing her around and say so.’

Will would have liked to explain himself to Ciara. He’d told Saoirse from the offset that he was difficult, that he found commitment difficult, that he didn’t have a great track record with women. Saoirse had been so confident in herself she’d believed she could overwrite Alice’s story, but, of course, she couldn’t. Will hadn’t set out to hurt or humiliate her. He’d tried to love Saoirse, but his heart was never truly in it. How could it be, when it still belonged to Alice?

‘I’ve never messed Saoirse around,’ he said, echoing Ciara’s phrase. ‘I have never told her a lie. I’ve never cheated on her.’

‘But you shoot off to the West Country when she’s sick…’

‘It’s my work. I’ve been working towards one particular book for a long time and there’s been a significant development.’

‘Do you want Saoirse to move out?’ Ciara asked. ‘Is that what you want, but you don’t have the backbone to say?’

Actually, what Will wanted was for Ciara to hang up and leave him alone, but this was an opportunity being offered to him. If Saoirse was going to move out it would be far less hassle if she did it while he wasn’t there.