‘No, thanks, I am fine. How kind of you to call her down. I really would appreciate a quick word,’ Esther muttered, noting a tan, pull-along, executive suitcase parked by the door and walking half on tiptoes to reduce the clack of her boot heels on the marble floor, which was white and veined with blue, like expensive cheese.

‘I’ll fetch her,’ he said, after they had waited a few moments. ‘Sorry to be in disarray,’ he added, a somewhat baffling remark given the pristine, museum-like grandeur of the room, ‘but I’ve just returned from a trip. Twenty years, and I’ve yet to get the hang of jet lag. Make yourself at home.’

Esther was not brave enough to do any such thing. Two blue silk sofas, the size of boats, were set at opposite ends of the vast, oblong space, each decorated with identical lines of overlapping gold scatter cushions that looked as if they had never once in their lives been disturbed. Between them, set in angled pairs, were hefty armchairs with chunky, carved legs and seats so deep and huge she was sure her legs would swing free of the floor if she dared to sit on one. She lurked by the door instead, listening to the thud of Jo Chen’s footsteps receding up the staircase, and then the faint muffled sounds of what sounded like disagreement. After several more long minutes, hearing a slammed door and lighter footsteps, she dodged deeper into the room just before Mei Lin appeared.

‘Hello, Mrs Shaw. How are you?’ The question was pitched as a polite statement rather than an actual enquiry. Her pale angular face, half hidden by the geometric lines of her long fringe and side curtains of hair, appeared composed and inscrutable, but she remained in the half-open door, as if ready to bolt should the need arise.

‘Mei Lin, please forgive me, barging in on you like this…’ The girl was daunting; the expressionless set of her face, the force of her inner resolve, coming off her in waves – such a contrast to the relaxed poses and sunny smiles in the photos with Dylan that Esther found it hard to get her words out. ‘I just wanted to ask if, by any chance, you were in touch with Dylan… and could tell me exactly where he is, when he is planning on coming home… if he is really okay…’

The mask had broken into a surprised frown. ‘Coming home? We broke up. After that time at yours. That afternoon actually. I haven’t seen him since.’ She shrugged. ‘Sorry, not to be able to help.’

‘No contact at all?’ Esther exclaimed, making no secret of her incredulity. ‘Really?’