Marina turned in to face her, dropping her voice. ‘Talking of that, I thought you’d want to know – we had the coroner’s report back.’

‘Oh?’

‘Stage-four breast cancer.’

‘Oh.’ Charlotte’s mouth parted in surprise. ‘And she never said?’

‘Not a word. Her carers never knew either. She refused all medication.’

‘. . . She didn’t want to worry you?’

‘Probably.’

‘Well . . .’ Charlotte said after a pause. ‘I suppose there’s some comfort to take in that. If she didn’t have long either . . . at least they were together at the end.’

Marina nodded, looking pensive. ‘I’ve been thinking about this a lot actually, and I think . . . I think she knew that was what she would do, as soon as she heard he was dying too.’

‘Do you think that’s why he was trying to find her?’ Charlotte frowned. ‘Could it have been some sort of pact?’

‘I think it was more of a promise, if anything. Before you came into the room that day, I asked her why she was going through with this. He’d caused her such pain and it was clear she was tormented by the prospect of seeing him again.’ Marina took a breath, emotion taking grip of her once again as she remembered the events of that fateful day. ‘But just before you came in, she told me that as a little girl, her mother had made her swear to always protect him, that he wasn’t as strong as she was.’ She bit her lip. ‘I think she felt there was comfort in going together, that he wouldn’t be alone. No matter what had happened between them and how bad things got, they looked out for each other at the end. They kept the promise.’

‘Oh, Marina,’ Charlotte said, placing a hand on her arm, her voice thickening with emotion.

Marina looked at her with teary eyes, the pain still fresh. ‘I know Nathan did a great job but I’m still not sure we got to the bottom of what really happened between them.’

Charlotte managed not to react at the sudden mention of his name. ‘Well, to be honest, I don’t think anyone ever could – they may not have even known the full truths themselves. So much of life is influenced and dictated by chance details that get lost in the retelling.’

‘Hey.’ Lucy Santos came over, her eyes bright. ‘So I think they’re ready for the speeches. How are you feeling?’

Marina and Charlotte both recovered themselves with quick smiles, Marina dabbing at her eyes quickly and pulling a nervous face. ‘Terrified.’ The two women had become fast friends when Charlotte had introduced them, sensing that they shared more than just fat bank accounts: both had been pulled into this new world by means outside their control and they had bonded immediately over the etiquette perils and paparazzi pitfalls, trying to navigate it together; Lucy was even helping Marina find a new apartment.

‘You’ll be brilliant,’ Lucy said confidently. ‘Is Mateo going first?’