‘No… of course not… I mean, Stephen and I both have lots of friends,’ Esther floundered, thinking of Shona, and Viv, her best friend since kindergarten, whom she saw rarely now because of her still being at a Scottish university studying to be a psychologist. She and Stephen would make their own friends – their own life together – just as soon as they could; it was something they talked about often. Trying to imagine her companion as part of that mix was hard, even if he was clearly regretting the grand gesture of catching a train to London to take her out for dinner. The spellbinding thing had definitely worn off. Which was good, Esther told herself, aware even so of a small, absurd – utterly unjustifiable – flutter of disappointment. Despite that, she started to feel somewhat off the hook and, when Lucas started asking questions about her life, began to talk more freely: about the blow while studying at Exeter of facing up to not being good enough to pursue a career in music – as a pianist or anything else; about her hopes that the mundane role at the publishers might prove a stepping stone to better things; about longing for Stephen to get a move on with the ordeal of speaking to his wife.

‘It seems to me that being in our twenties is all about seeking that elusive balance between ambition and happiness,’ Lucas offered, kindly, when she had finished. ‘And to my mind, in the end, what one is should always matter far more than what one does, or who one is with, for that matter.’

‘Oh yes, that’s so true…’ They were interrupted by the arrival of the bowl of mango and chocolate ice cream they had elected to share for dessert. The waiter set it down with a flourish between them, together with two long spoons. Esther picked hers up and then hesitated, not wanting to be the first to start.

‘I felt totally lost for most of my first three years at Manchester,’ Lucas confessed cheerfully, plunging his own spoon into the dessert with no sign of the same compunction. ‘Between lectures I spent a lot of time hanging out and drinking myself stupid with people I didn’t like much.’

‘No girlfriend?’ Esther asked breezily, keeping her own focus now on tackling the mounds of ice cream, which was delicious, and melting fast.

‘Not really. Recently there was someone called Caroline, but she didn’t think much of me heading south.’ He pulled a face. ‘All I’m attached to these days is my passion for early English texts.’ He laughed easily, sitting back. ‘A passion that began when I bumped into Sir Gawain and his green knight, a good while ago now. But one thing led to another. As things do.’