I’d spent the morning emailing my remaining contacts at every university and research lab I could think of, anyone who could back up my theory that the presence of soapy lye in the seams, in addition to Anna wearing the gown in not just one but possibly two paintings, meant it was more likely the dress belonged to her than to her former mistress. Jeanette Hall had scoffed when I told her what had happened with Liam.

‘Oh, that bastard,’ she said. ‘Academia will get him, if karma doesn’t. One bad turn, as they say. You can’t hide your bad habits forever. Yes, I can help with the paintings. I can’t lend out the originals, of course, but I know of some excellent reproductions and I’d be happy to write the foreword to the exhibition catalogue, if you’re keen. Just say the word.’

She rang off, promising to email me later with the names of a few galleries. Talking to Jeanette made me feel better and worse at the same time. On the one hand her reaction only strengthened my conviction that he’d betrayed me. But on the other, why had I trusted him in the first place? I’d kept trying to see the good in him long past the point he’d given me reason not to. At least Rob had given us permission for the exhibition go ahead. When I’d called Olivia to tell her the good news, she’d squealed excitedly in a decidedly un-Olivia fashion and started describing the plans she and Flora had made for a local carpenter to alter the upstairs exhibition space in the Texel Historical Society so it would be enough to accommodate a bigger crowd.

‘There’s a small storage closet we don’t use,’ Olivia told me. ‘We’re hoping the builder might be able to knock out a wall and whitewash the board so they match the rest of the room. We could call the exhibition: De Jurk. The Dress. The gown is the hero, after all. Or heroine, if you prefer. The space could be ready in two weeks. What about the other artefacts – the book cover and the purse, the earrings and comb? How long would you need to arrange for them to be returned? How can we ensure we display them properly when they arrive?’

‘Leave that to me,’ I assured her. ‘I’ll contact Marien at Leiden University this afternoon. She might be Liam’s contact, but she has to do what the Noord-Holland government say since they are the official owners. Besides, Marien’s a professional. She has to maintain a certain level of impartiality to preserve her reputation.’

A little wave of bitterness washed through me. Liam was supposed to be a professional, too, but that hadn’t stopped him putting his own career before everything and everyone else.