Janie walked down the street to where she had parked her car and went over the strange conversation in her head. She had wanted to meet Mia because of what Harry had told her. Yet for some reason she’d felt drawn to the younger woman, and sensed that she could do with someone on the inside, who could tell her what it was really like in Harry’s castle.

Mia seemed to have her head screwed on the right way. She’d always appeared so much more open and friendly than Laura Denning. Janie had noticed it when she’d been in the office previously. She had watched Mia from inside Harry’s glass office and seen her laughing and joking with the other women.

And yet their brief lunch had surprised Janie. Mia was nothing at all what she had expected. Janie had always prided herself on seeing people, on cutting through the thick outer layers that sometimes cloaked the reality beneath. It was what had made her good at her job. She rarely misread anyone – Miles Morgan had been an exception.

Anyone with Janie’s knowledge of handbags could see immediately that Mia’s Gucci was a fake, the rose-gold bangles that hung around her wrist were the same ones Ella had recently bought from a cheap accessory shop.

In contrast to the bubbly woman she had previously witnessed, today Mia was reserved, to the point of being on edge. And when Janie had asked her about her family life – nothing more than anyone would do, when trying to get to know someone – she had one distinct impression: Mia Anderson was holding something back.

Chapter Twenty

Laura and Harry were meeting Miles in The Star pub, which had pride of place on Lymington Quay. As soon as they walked in, he stood up and held up a hand in greeting and Laura had to force herself to keep walking. Miles had to be at least six foot two. He was wearing a grey woollen jacket, with a grey V-necked jumper and open-necked shirt underneath. Out of his jacket pocket peeked a blue silk handkerchief. His whole look was mesmerising, and yet he’d managed not to look over-dressed for the pub.

Like Harry, Miles had dark-grey hair, which was styled into a quiff, and a closely cropped beard, and Laura couldn’t take her eyes off him. She followed Harry, who was clasping the man’s hand with both of his own. From the off, it was apparent the two men went way back, but she guessed they hadn’t seen each other in a while, as they told each other how good it was finally to catch up again. Eventually Harry stepped to the side and introduced her.

Laura reached out to shake Miles’s hand as he leaned forward and kissed her cheek, and despite herself she was pleased that she’d added another dab of Chanel before leaving the office.