I kept remembering the lower-key book tour with Spring Breezes when Linny and I had such fun despite the awful weather and the Repetitive Signing Syndrome, and the bookshop manager in Harrods remembered Linny and asked after her, so I lied and said she was abroad on holiday.

Still, I was cheered to see my book emblazoned all over the tube – must ask for a copy of the poster to brighten my hovel – not to mention all the other publicity and reviews it was getting, and so I embarked on my second day of book signings feeling quite confident. There was even a little queue at the first one, except it turned out that half of them thought I was the war correspondent who was signing next day.

But I seemed to have mastered the technique of looking up and smiling without actually looking at who was buying the book, while asking: ‘And who shall I make it out to?’ in an interested way, until suddenly this little waterlogged voice said: ‘To your lowly worm of a friend Linny, who doesn’t deserve ever to be forgiven, but who misses you!’

It was, too, and she looked dreadful, all pale and miserable. I sprang up and we gave each other a big hug and my eyes went all watery, which was not exactly the image I was trying to project. It was just as well Linny looked so preggie because otherwise the people queuing might have thought we were a pair of lesbians, though on second thoughts I dare say that doesn’t matter these days and might even be a promotional plus, and in any case with my name linked so luridly with Sergei’s on everyone’s lips, there wasn’t really much chance of that.

‘Oh, Linny, I’ve missed you too!’ I cried.

And she said, ‘Tina, life just isn’t the same without you! I can’t say exactly what I think to anyone else, even Tershie, and I hate being pregnant – I feel like something out of Alien, wondering what’s going to pop out, and I must have been absolutely mad … and I don’t know what got into me!’

I said Sergei had that effect on a lot of women, and though I could never forgive him, I understood just why she’d done it, and although it was always going to feel odd that we’d – however temporarily – shared a lover, our friendship was worth more than that.

Then we hugged again and the manager brought another chair over and suggested my friend sit down and wait while I finished my signing, which she did, and then came in the taxi with me to the last one.