Brown put his cup and saucer down. He sat back, crossed one knee over the other and rested his clasped hands on the prominent curve of his belly. ‘To spare you the distress of having to give me the details of this appalling tragedy, I took the liberty of contacting the police and am fully conversant with the specifics of the matter.’

Allison was a little annoyed – she’d been looking forward to reciting her monologue of woe, but she was also relieved. Benjamin may look sparrow-like and speak like an escapee from a Victorian melodrama, but she wasn’t stupid enough to be fooled. By reputation, he was all hawk, little sparrow.

‘That’s such a relief, thank you. It’s hard to talk about it although it’s never out of my head. Those last few minutes. Wondering if he knew what was happening, if it was quick, if there was pain.’ She shut her eyes for a second. When she opened them, she found Benjamin’s eyes fixed on her and forced herself not to react, to meet his gaze without flinching and allow her lower lip to tremble… just a little; she didn’t want to drift into a pantomime caricature.

She reached for her tea and took a sip. It was cold and strong. When the solicitor went, she was going to reward herself with a drink. ‘The police have said it might take months before their investigation is complete,’ she said, replacing the cup and saucer on the table. ‘The funeral is such a milestone in the grieving process, and to have that delayed is going to be so difficult.’

She held her breath, waiting for him to grab hold of the wriggling worm she’d dangled right in front of his sparrow face, reluctant to come straight out with: Is there anything you can do to speed up the process?

Brown tapped stubby thumbs together, each movement measured and slow. Allison felt irritation begin to bubble and dropped her eyes to her hands.

‘The police, understandably, will have to investigate this terrible tragedy,’ the solicitor said, ‘but I’m sure I can speak to the coroner and have a death certificate expedited to allow you to proceed with the funeral.’

Exactly what she’d hoped he’d say. ‘That would be so terribly kind of you.’ Bloody hell, he had her speaking like him now. ‘It’ll be good to get that first step done. Luckily, my finances are good, so I’m not rushing to have Peter’s estate settled. Although it will be nice to have that done too.’ Take the hint, Benjamin.

‘Will you stay in this area? Or perhaps you’ll want to make a clean break and decide to move out of London.’