‘I think I would like to spend some more time with him,’ I continued. ‘Get to know him a bit better, but there’s no rush. I’ve got work and the kids. I can’t keep racing off on dates at the drop of a hat. And I don’t want to look too keen,’ I added with a grin.

‘I get it,’ she said.

‘And what about you?’ I asked, risking a more personal question now that my love life seemed to be fair conversational game. ‘Are you seeing anyone?’

‘No one special,’ she said, twisting her mouth downwards. ‘There’ve been a few over the years. I saw this guy Richie for a while. I think Mummy started to get excited about grandchildren. He was sweet, but in the end it didn’t work out. He’s married now.’

I saw that sadness again, the one I’d seen in the photographs.

‘The trouble is,’ she added, ‘they are either only in it for the kudos of going out with aristocracy, or I think they are and then they get offended. And going to an all-girls school, I never really got the hang of talking to men. The ones I met when I was younger were all friends of Hector’s and they were only interested in sex. And the people I know now are happily paired off and having babies. I never meet anyone single these days. I suppose if I had a job . . .’ She shrugged and let out a little sigh. ‘I think I might have missed the boat.’

‘Being in a couple isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,’ I said.

‘Well, I wouldn’t mind giving it a go,’ Clio replied. She tipped her head back against the sofa and looked up at the Anaglypta ceiling. ‘I realise that this might sound odd to you,’ she said. ‘So please forgive me. But I’m really envious of you and your life, Leah.’

This threw me. Here was a woman who lived in a stately home and had never had to clean other people’s floors to put food on the table, and yet she envied what I had. I didn’t interrupt her. I was curious to know what it was about how I moved through life that was so appealing to her.

‘I mean, you have your independence,’ she continued. ‘You make decisions for yourself. You don’t seem to worry about what others think.’

Well, that was true enough, even though I’d had independence forced on me rather than choosing it for myself.

‘You have your beautiful children and you give them a secure home,’ she continued. ‘You live in a community where everyone knows you and would look out for you if you needed help. And you really know who you are. To me you seem, well, truly content with life.’