‘Why did you tell that woman I had a heart of stone?’ she asked. ‘You know nothing about me.’

‘We needed to convince her that you were formidable.’ After a moment he added, ‘And every woman can turn her heart to stone when she needs to. I think you’ve sometimes needed to.’

‘True. She wasn’t the only one.’

‘Was he ever faithful to you?’

‘I doubt it. He must have taken up with her pretty soon after our marriage.’

‘Does that surprise you?’

‘Nothing I discover about Ben surprises me any more.’ She shrugged. ‘Even the way he died.’

‘I heard some strange rumours about that.’

‘You mean the woman he was with when he had the heart attack? She vanished so nobody knows who she was.’

‘A ship that passed in the night.’

She gave a wry smile. ‘There was a whole flotilla of those.’

‘That must have been very hard for you.’

‘I feel sorry for him more than anything, being left alone like that. I may not have been a very good wife, but I’d have stayed with him when he was ill.’

‘Weren’t you a good wife?’

‘No,’ she said shortly. ‘I wasn’t.’

‘Surely you must have loved him at some point?’

‘I never loved him,’ she said simply, wondering why she was telling so much to this man.

‘That’s very interesting.’

‘I see. You’re another who thinks I married Ben for what I took to be his vast wealth. Give me patience!’

‘I don’t-’

‘Listen, you said yourself, I don’t care what people say about me. You’re right, and “people” includes you. Think what you like.’

Silence.

‘I apologise,’ he said quietly.