‘Eight days! Then that’s how long she’s been in hospital. I’ve been caught up with stuff.’ Zia brought her up to date with poor Lucia’s painful lack of progress and Durante’s raging anxiety. ‘It’s great to see you looking so happy and relaxed.’

Ursula beamed. ‘Yeah, things are going pretty well with Steph. He’s at work right now. By the way, Brendon’s being the Incredible Sulk. He said you were a bitch to him.’

It wasn’t lost on Zia that Ursula was calling when Stephan was out but she had no objection. Stephan had picked a side and it wasn’t hers. ‘Let Brendon sulk,’ she declared. ‘He’s been overstepping the mark so I told him to butt out. Shame he had to explode and sour things more than necessary. You’d think he’d realise that as he was the one caught with his pants down he doesn’t have a leg to stand on.’

Ursula snorted a giggle. ‘He was standing on both his legs from what I remember.’ Then she sobered and a shadow entered her eyes. ‘To be honest, I’m worried about him causing issues between Steph and me. He lashed out again with his bloody silly complaint about me being forgiven and him not. Steph told Brendon the cases weren’t the same but he still got grumpy with me.’

Zia was alarmed at this new direction. She could imagine the kind of pit of despair Ursula might be hurled into if things once again went wrong with her marriage. ‘Don’t let Brendon poison things between you two.’

‘You don’t need to worry about that,’ put in an unseen voice, before Stephan loomed into shot over Ursula’s shoulder. Judging from his shirt and jacket he was fresh in from his job in procurement at Brighton & Hove City Council.

Ursula swung round. ‘Steph! Where did you spring from?’

Steph grinned and ruffled her new haircut. ‘Just came in from work. You were obviously yapping too loudly to hear me. Hi, Zia!’ he said to the screen.

‘Hi, Stephan.’ She smiled but it was creepy that he’d appeared out of thin air like that. People heard both sides of a conversation of a video call. Oh, well. She hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true, even if she might have been a touch more tactful if she’d known Stephan was earwigging.

She and Ursula talked about other things for a few minutes, then Ursula said she had to go. Although Zia didn’t regret returning to Italy, she couldn’t help feeling wistful as her best friend’s smile flashed off the screen. Ursula had been the best thing in her life for twelve years but evidently circumstances had changed when Zia dumped Ursula’s husband’s best buddy.

She suspected Stephan wouldn’t want Ursula to see so much of Zia when she returned to Brighton.