“How did you sleep?” I asked Belle. “Not well at all” she replied. Unfortunately for her she had bedded down after the party in the room next to the staircase that led to my sister S’s bedroom. S and her pals had stayed up all night making tea and toast, playing cards, and laughing loudly on the landing.

I had no time to chat, so made an apologetic grunt then set off out the door to a dental appointment, then back home to collect my overnight bag for a work trip to Paris.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the new dentist was none other than JH. All these years we’d thought that he’d earned his living as a planner.