Slowly he drained his pint and stood up, coming around the table and taking both of her hands and lifting her to her feet. ‘Nancy, that’s an invitation I’d be mad to refuse. I’ve wanted to hold you properly ever since I saw you, but I never dreamed I could. Oh, Nancy, my lovely Nancy.’ He leant close and gave her a tight hug, swiftly running his fingers through her soft red hair, the dull light glinting off it. Then he drew back before anyone noticed, mindful not to embarrass her. ‘You’ll make me the happiest, luckiest man in the world.’

‘Danny, I swear, if I have to sit through many meetings like that he’s going to drive me mad.’ Kitty slammed through the front door and threw down her handbag on the floor by the foot of the stairs. Her brother stood in the doorway to the kitchen, watching her. His shift had finished before hers, and he was trying to work through a pile of crosswords he hadn’t had time to do earlier in the week, but now it looked as if his peace was going to be disturbed.

‘Steady on,’ he said mildly. He wondered what this was all about. Kitty didn’t lose her temper very easily, but she’d gone and lost it now all right.

‘He’s so particular about everything. Wants exact figures for this, that and the other. Puts everyone on the spot. Won’t listen to reason.’ Kitty shrugged off her uniform jacket, which was too warm for the June weather, even midway through the evening. She’d strode back from the bus stop at a great pace, trying to walk off her annoyance, and now she was hot and bothered on top of it all.

Danny raised his eyebrows. ‘Are you talking about Frank, by any chance?’

‘You see!’ Kitty cried. ‘You knew at once who I met. Clearly he’s got a reputation for being difficult at work. You might have warned me.’ She pushed past him and made for the kitchen sink to pour herself a glass of water, to cool down. She was more flustered than she’d been for a long while, and it was all thanks to being cooped up in that stuffy meeting room with Frank Feeny. She felt he’d singled her out for extra-strict attention, cutting her no slack at all. She’d just about batted back his requests, but hadn’t been in the job long enough to be fully on top of everything, and she hated any such weakness being exposed. He really was the limit.

Danny followed her, pushing the newspapers to one side and exposing the old, well-scrubbed kitchen table. ‘Not a bit of it,’ he protested. ‘Nobody thinks like that apart from you. Everyone else respects and admires him. It’s just that he gets under your skin, then you come back here like a bear with a sore head.’