And then, Jack Benator was walking towards us. In casual clothes, an open-necked shirt, he our host, that evening. I was telling Mrs. Kline how much we love her painting, Mr. Benator, she said. Ah, he said. Wonderful. She’s fantastic. She’s going to be famous one day, I’ve got my money on her, he said, and we all laughed. How much money, said Candace, and we laughed again.

Will you have another drink, Jacqueline, Jack said, Candace? My glass, it is true, was empty. So I turned with Jack Benator towards the table with drinks on the other side of the pool, and Candace said, no thanks, I’m going to use the ladies’, and Jack and I were then, suddenly, alone.

Joseph Weiss, he said. A pause. Your house has been remarkably safe for him. We’re very grateful, many people are grateful to you and Howard, Jacqueline. You know that? He was speaking in a low voice, of course, and no one was near us, just the edge of the listening pool, and the trees bowing, alongside.

Jack, I said. And I felt the familiar fluttering, the alarm, at the reminder of this strange secret — our garden — the thought of it coming into my mind and filling it, again. It’s been very difficult, I said. The children. What if he’s found? I said. I thought he was going to be moved. Isn’t it better to move him around? And then, hearing my own soft voice saying these things, at this ordinary party at a pool, I froze. I would say nothing more. And Howard? Howard would be annoyed with my talking like this to Jack Benator.

I have an idea Jack hardly heard me, or if he did, he brushed aside my words, in his mind. We’re very grateful, Jacqueline, they’re doing their best to find another place for him, they’re doing their best.

This may well have been true. I felt superficial and selfish, then.

It’s all fine, Jack, I said. This is a lovely party, Jack, your girls are lovely, I said then. His two small daughters had made an appearance earlier at the party, they’d come in, in their nightdresses, to be introduced and say goodnight. Two girls with long, fair hair, brushed carefully, for bed. They were a little younger than Helena.

After the party I sat in the car as Howard drove us home, and said nothing about Jack Benator. I’ve said before: I don’t like parties.

IT WAS TIME to go to Villiers. Emily had instructions to take Joseph his meals, as before. Just be careful, I said to Emily. I’m not sure what I meant, I meant, don’t tell anybody, don’t let anyone down into the garden, what else could I have meant? We’d cancelled the neighbours’ gardener cleaning our pool while we were away. Emily nodded. Emily understood.

What would we have done without Emily?

And I went to say goodbye to Joseph. Why did I do that? It was only a few days we’d be away, I had sometimes not seen Joseph for two, or three weeks, at a stretch. But I had to tell Joseph we were going away, I didn’t want to leave that to Emily, to tell, to explain all that, to him.