‘They will be when we’re safely home.’

‘How are we going to get across the border?’ Kate did not answer. ‘I assume you’re here with a fake identity and passport, but unless you brought one for me, I’ll have to go through on my own account.’ She felt his eyes upon her. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve failed to consider this because I won’t believe you.’

‘I have thought about it,’ she said.

‘And?’ he asked, when she failed to elaborate.

‘I don’t have an answer.’

He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. ‘I’ll get out of the car just before the border and hitch back to Moscow. I’ll try to leave another way.’

‘If you don’t cross with me now, they’ll never let you leave Russia. And since we won’t be allowed back in here, you’ll never see any of us again.’

‘I’ve committed my crimes. Perhaps now is the time to pay for them.’

‘A heroic offer, but no cigar, I’m afraid. It would kill the kids.’

‘And you?’ He tried to force a smile. ‘Would it kill you?’

She didn’t – perhaps couldn’t – answer that.

‘I’ve been thinking,’ he said.

‘That sounds ominous.’

‘I know you, Kate. I’ve loved you for two decades. And I’ve tried to convince myself on the long nights in Moscow that the woman I love is capable of the forgiveness I need. But, in my heart of hearts, I’m certain you’re not.’

‘Stuart—’

‘It’s not a criticism. I know you’ve tried, are trying. I see the pain of the effort in every last gesture. And I want you to. God knows, I’m willing you on. But I know you. You’re fiercely proud, loyal, decent, honest. You would never betray someone you love. Ever. Under any circumstances.’

‘You make it sound like a flaw.’

‘No, I don’t. It’s a hard taskmaster, but it’s the essence of your humanity. It’s who you are. It’s why I love you. So we can go on in this twilight world where I beg and you try, but it’s never going to work and, deep down, I think you know that.’

She didn’t offer him the denial he so obviously still hoped for.

‘Letting you go on is the last service I can provide you, the final proof of my love. And I’ll do it without any expectation—’

‘No,’ she said. ‘You might sacrifice yourself for me as some kind of twisted penance but not for the children. They don’t deserve to pay that price. We cross together or not at all.’

The honesty of his appraisal of their fractured relationship punctured the air of claustrophobic intensity inside the car and she leant her head against his shoulder. He put an arm around her. ‘Friends?’ he asked.

‘Always.’

Her head slid down into his lap and, within moments, she had drifted off to sleep again.

By the time a bump in the road awoke her, slivers of dawn sunlight were already illuminating the craggy peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. They stopped for petrol one more time, then Kate took over the driving.