‘I can assure you, I am perfectly aware of the power of language, Ralph,’ Lucas retorted. ‘It is, after all, my trade.’ He folded himself into the chair that had its back to the room, drinking steadily for a few seconds and exhaling deeply after he had swallowed. ‘Apologies. I am out of sorts, to put it mildly.’

‘I can imagine.’

‘Can you?’ Lucas offered a pained smile across their small table. Though the man sitting opposite was probably his closest friend, they had never been confidants. Lucas hadn’t gone in for those, at least not since Esther.

‘And hey, congratulations again to you and Heidi. What tremendous news.’ Ralph raised his glass and Lucas lifted his in response, both men aware of not managing quite the display of joy such news deserved. For a few minutes Ralph nobly quizzed him on how the engagement had come about and the time-scale of their plans, before offering up a self-deprecating account of Catherine taking three times of asking before settling on a yes. ‘Sometimes it’s sheer grit that sees you through,’ he continued kindly, ‘and I am sure we can get this awful business sorted out. I mean, it’s in everyone’s interests, right? So, chin up. How’s the rest of the family, anyway?’

‘All good,’ Lucas muttered, finding that he wasn’t up to sharing the fact of Dylan gallivanting off to Europe instead of working for his re-sits. There was only so much pity a man could take.

‘My fear,’ he blurted, when Ralph returned with a second pint for Lucas and a half for himself, ‘is that the girl wants some sort of moment in the sun. You know the kind, Ralph. She can’t quite get the attention she wants, so she tries other ways.’

Ralph was eyeing him warily. The main focus of his role as Senior Tutor was student welfare, which meant an acquaintance with the foibles of every student. ‘Yes, she struggled to settle,’ he said levelly, ‘seemed to hold herself a little apart, but…’ He paused, leaning closer and lowering his voice. ‘Asking her not to tell anyone, Lucas, now that was unfortunate, as was your choice of vocabulary. Not to mention the Post-it note with the manuscript. What the devil were you thinking?’

Lucas felt his stomach heave. Somehow, he had forgotten the scribbled ‘shhhh’ on the sticker he had attached to the folder before posting it into Moira’s pigeonhole. ‘For God’s sake, Ralph, the whole business was about trying to be kind, while not triggering a deluge of similar requests. She begged for my help, I tell you, virtually in tears. I thought she would be grateful. Trust me, I won’t be such an idiot again.’