‘Shona…’ he tapped his temple with his index finger, in a show of one working hard to retrieve information ‘…the busy lawyer friend from your uni days with the enviably loving, super-successful, equally busy partner, Carole.’

‘Impressive. And there I was thinking you’ve only been pretending to listen to all the chatter about my mundane whirlwind of a life.’ Esther shot him a grin, before trotting across the room to check out a series of younger self-portraits, which, like every treasure in the Rijksmuseum, they were having to enjoy at top speed thanks to the spectacular failure of their pledge to make an early start.

‘Sweet Esther…’ Marcus had growled sleepily from behind her, sliding all four of his limbs over hers as she’d attempted to get out of bed when her phone alarm had gone off ‘… “it is not yet near day. It was the nightingale and not the lark that pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear…” or, as Romeo was trying to say, can we pretend it’s still the middle of the night?’

‘No, we can’t. And spouting lines from a play will get you nowhere. We have showers to get under, art to enjoy, and I have a train to catch…’ She had spoken firmly, while her body, softening against his, had already been communicating a rather different message.

Standing alone in front of the paintings, Esther swayed a little as she remembered what had followed and the intimacies that had punctuated the night. At some point she would be tired – they had slept so little – but for now she was wildly awake, hyper-tuned to everything beautiful. A weekend in Amsterdam had been nowhere in her November plans. The previous Sunday she had merely messaged to ask if she could keep the cat, a text composed upon her return from Mei Lin’s, when, huddled heavy-hearted on her sofa, she had felt the animal arriving on her lap, stepping cautiously as if the space might prove to be unstable. Chico had never attempted such close proximity before. Even so, he was just a cat, Esther had told herself, tentatively stroking the thick fur, wary of the talons, but enjoying the animal’s weight and warmth. He was a comfort, and she was lonely. And they were making something like progress, it had occurred to her suddenly, so who would want to put a halt to that?

Come and visit next weekend. I need someone to be a tourist with