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His notion prompted the feeling that a basketload of butterflies had taken flight from within her chest, soaring skywards in a triumphant flap of joy to be released. If she had been asked to choose one word to describe how her father’s watercolour made her feel, it would be that word: safe. She loved Harry for saying it, for seeing beneath the near luminous green of the glen as dying light hit, the smudges of heather clambering up to the rockier heights while the bowl of the loch shimmered a brooding blue-grey. Shafts of the setting sun shone determinedly through some billowing clouds . . . to what her father was capturing . . . a place she would love to call home. It was remote, peaceful, safe.

‘Is that where . . .?’

She smiled kindly. ‘No. That was a different loch. I’m glad you like it. I like to keep it close.’

He let his gaze linger on her before he softly cleared his throat. ‘Anyway, I was on my way to the railway station and I wondered if you’d care to join me for a coffee at the kiosk. Hardly elegant, but I didn’t get a chance to eat and I won’t now as I needed to see you before I left . . . to say goodbye and thank you for everything.’

‘I haven’t done much, really. In fact —’

‘More than you can know,’ he said as if to hush her protestation.

‘Let me get my coat. Do we have time to walk?’

‘Yes, of course. But are you sure? I could —’

‘I want to walk.’ She moved to the stand where her coat was still hanging from today. Norma hadn’t removed it yet to be hung up properly. She called out to the housekeeper that she was going out for a bit. ‘Let’s hurry, or she’ll interrogate me,’ she whispered.

They were both out of the door with Harry helping Alex to shrug into her coat while they were walking. She tucked the scarf around her neck and began pulling on gloves. ‘Harry, I’m so sorry about today.’

‘It’s not your fault, don’t apologise. Is everything all right?’

‘I’m fine, but there is something I have to explain to you . . . about the love letter. It’s been weighing heavy on my mind.’

‘Before you say any more, Alex, the reason I’m here is I have something to tell you as well. It’s important, or I wouldn’t bring it to you. I also think it will help to explain plenty. What you do with the information I give you is the challenge. I don’t wish to upset you but I also can’t leave you knowing what I do, and not helping you to understand something fundamental about your marriage.’

‘My marriage?’ All thoughts of Kitty fled. ‘You came here to discuss my marriage?’ She didn’t like the higher, breathless tone of her voice – she tried to convince herself it was just the cold but knew it sounded more like shocking disappointment just before it tips into despair.

‘There cannot be an “us”; we both know that.’

So he was going to be strong for both of them. Somewhere deep she resented his resolve, hating that he had the ability to take the near magical experience they shared as recently as this morning, which lifted her to a place of dizzying euphoria, allowed her to glimpse a life and loving that she’d never thought possible, and reduce it to such a sensible, entirely pragmatic utterance of nine unremarkable words.

‘Tell me what you’re thinking,’ he urged, clearly unnerved by her silence.

‘There’s no point. Tell me what you came to say.’

‘Let’s get to the station first.’

‘Why? Nothing else you say could upset me more.’

He halted, forced her to stop walking and turned her towards him; she shook her head, feeling hopeless. ‘It’s all right, Harry. My husband is no fool. He worked us out within moments.’

‘He knows?’ he asked, sounding incredulous.

‘He knew when I introduced you.’

‘He’s not what I expected in a man you’d marry.’

‘I don’t know how to respond to that. But I won’t deny he’s full of charm and smarts. He could sell chocolate bars to Rowntree’s, believe me; working out my infidelity was no great test of his intuition.’

‘And?’

‘I wasn’t going to lie.’

‘You admitted it?’ This time he simply frowned but she saw concern in the slanting shadows cast by the streetlights.

She nodded. ‘We’d better keep going or you’ll miss your train south.’ Reluctantly he moved and she continued. ‘To tell you the truth, I’m glad I could be honest about it.’

‘He didn’t hurt you or . . .?’