‘Hi. Come in.’ If she was overwhelmed by grief she showed no trace as she calmly asked us to take a seat while she put on the kettle. We told her how sorry we were, watching for a hint of emotion as she stirred two sugars into Oliver’s mug. She wasn’t going to share family secrets with her employees and we started to relax when this became apparent.

Over coffee, she assured us our jobs were safe.

‘I’d like you both to carry on working here after Christmas. I’m happy to take a back seat and we can discuss finances once probate has been sorted. I haven’t a clue how things work but look forward to finding out.’

We didn’t hang around. Crystal had told us what we needed to know; our jobs were safe. I agreed to go for lunch with Oliver as I needed the company and it would be the last I’d see of him until the New Year. If I’d any misgivings, they seemed less threatening in the cold light of day and it felt more awkward to refuse the invitation than to accept.

We ended up in a cosy bistro in Knightsbridge a short distance from the gallery. A fire crackled and blazed in a large brick hearth and the smell from a real spruce chipped away at the misery. It was hard not to cheer up when a waiter handed us each a glass of mulled wine.

‘I can almost see why Roger hanged himself. She’s a stunner,’ said Oliver. ‘Women like her, and I am of course putting you in the same category, my darling, could lead a man to desperate measures.’

Oliver kept the conversation light, boosting my confidence with his throwaway comments. Over Christmas goose, we chatted more freely and the mistletoe incident was briefly brushed under the carpet. I decided to use the opportunity to learn more about his best friend.

‘Mitch always had success with the ladies, more mature from day one. At university, I remember a lady called Felicity coming up to visit. The rest of us were flirting with teenage undergraduates and he was off having trysts with a woman old enough to be his mother. Perhaps it’s a bit disloyal but I suspected at the time that she was married.’

I listened to my companion’s loosened tongue and toyed with the food, moving small mouthfuls round the plate creating space, like a child, pretending I’d eaten enough and should be allowed a dessert.

‘Did you ever fall for the same woman?’ I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to learn everything I could about Mitch.

‘Ha ha ha! Of course. I’m looking at you, chick.’ Oliver summoned the waiter and ordered another bottle of wine, having polished off most of the first one single-handedly.