She thought it sounded fun so I said I’d put it to Sergei. ‘And do you know, he bought every single plant, tree and shrub for the conservatory on that list of suggestions I gave him, which must have cost him a fortune, because they are all tropical and some of them are very rare! Isn’t that romantic?’ But I didn’t tell her what we did in there earlier, on the wicker daybed under its canopy of greenery.

‘Yes, I suppose it is,’ she agreed kindly, for she didn’t share my passion for plants.

Then I told her I was accompanying Sergei to his book launch in July, so she would have to help me choose something extra special to wear for it, and just then Sergei came back into the room and that was the end of all conversation for quite some time.

Later I let Sergei drive me home himself (stopping at Linny’s briefly for my case on the way), which was something I didn’t usually do, due to him driving like the possessed, but I was so tired I could hardly move, even to get out of the car. I even let him carry me over the threshold, which he did without one single murmur about his bad back.

Then he kissed me passionately and left with a little box of pearls in his pocket, singing something stirring in Russian.

Due to excessive languor I didn’t actually do anything constructive until next morning, when I checked my voice-mail and discovered a rather incoherent and shame-faced message from Nathan, more or less saying that Rachel had foisted herself on him and put his ring back on her finger herself. He certainly hadn’t done it, and he didn’t want to marry her despite being still fond of her, but she was making it very difficult to say so.

But really, that was not my problem, so when he added, ‘Rachel says you and Sergei are together again, but I don’t know if that’s true. I’m sure you were determined not to see him ever again, weren’t you? So it seemed unlikely …’ and rambled on and on again about his own problems. I deleted him.

I think I liked him better as a distant inspiration than as a man, and while writing the next bit of The Orchid Huntress I found my thoughts turning more and more to Grigor, who seems to possess most of the attributes needed in a hero, except for a slight lack in the chin department, although when I was face to face with him in Sergei’s flat I realized that it is not so much that he hasn’t got one, just that it is small and rather pointed and perhaps does not show to best advantage from a distant stage.