He nodded again. ‘Always a fan of a précised approach when it comes to personal problems.’

‘I met Jason for a drink last night,’ I said without further hesitation, ‘and he told me that after we split up he slept with Ruby.’

Giles’s eyebrows rose slowly to maximum height. ‘Ruby, your work colleague and friend?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you believe him?’

I grimaced. ‘I haven’t talked to Ruby about it yet.’

‘But you do believe him,’ said Giles.

‘Can’t think of a self-serving-bastard reason for him to lie.’

‘I’m sorry, Edie.’

‘There’s more.’

‘I’m braced.’

‘Today, I went for lunch with Luke,’ I continued, now turning my head away, choosing to deliver my summary of events to the water jug, in preference to maintaining eye contact with Giles. ‘He told me that Cameron had not at any time harassed Ruby. In fact, it was quite the reverse.’

‘I see. Crikey.’

‘Luke also told me that Cameron does not get women into bed by offering them reduced-cost architectural services.’

I now forced myself to look at Giles and saw that his mouth had formed the stern moue he usually reserved for politicians on Newsnight and Anthony’s toilet-time accidents.

‘I don’t believe I was ever made privy to that particular gem of supposition,’ he said solemnly.

My shoulders sagged under the almost physical weight of his disappointment, a burden which increased when I thought about all the people made miserable by my unprofessional and ultimately unhelpful approach to supporting a female colleague in the workplace. Cameron was unhappy in his new job; Kerry had witnessed a vague but unmistakable character assassination of her dead husband’s best friend; and Giles had had a wonderful friendship with his neighbour firmly kicked into touch. And all thanks to me.

‘Are you certain that Luke is certain?’ asked Giles.

‘He wouldn’t lie about something like that.’

His eyebrows rose again, this time questioningly.

‘I should talk to Alison,’ I said meekly.

He nodded slowly. ‘You should.’

‘I should have done that weeks, months, ago,’ I said quietly, hanging my head. ‘I’ll text Alison and ask for a meeting tomorrow morning. Then, depending upon the outcome of that, I’ll talk to Cameron and also to Kerry. I’ll make sure she knows that it was all my fault and nothing to do with you. Hopefully, the fact that you and I share no genetic material will make it easier for her to accept that it’s entirely possible for you to be a measured, rational person, whilst I’m a total moron.’