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back the way they were? For the sake of our friendship? It means a lot to me.’
    Anthony looked away. ‘It’s not just you and me. It’s other things. Camilla, for instance. Why did you have to start an affair with her? Of all people, why her?’
    Leo took a small silver cigar case from his pocket, and nicked it open. ‘I happen to be pretty serious about Camilla.’ He lit a cigar and blew out a stream of smoke.
    Anthony gave a small, wincing smile. ‘Right. For how long, though? You have a famously short emotional attention span.’
    Leo said nothing for a few seconds. Then he nodded. ‘That’s the worst of it. The fact is, I don’t know how it’ll work out.’
    Anthony turned his glass round in his hands for a few seconds, dunking. It was no longer important that Camilla had once been his girlfriend. That was history now. Leo could do as he liked; so could she. ‘For God’s sake, don’t make her suffer the way you made me.’
    A brief silence fell between them, broken only by the occasional drowse of insects in the roses, and gusts of chatter and laughter from students further up the garden. Leo thought he detected, in the way Anthony spoke, some suggestion that he was beginning to reconcile recent past events. When he spoke at last, he said, ‘In return, promiseme you’ll reconsider leaving. Nobody wants you to. Especially me. Whatever has happened between us, I need you.’
    But not, thought Anthony, in the right way. He sipped his drink and said nothing. ‘Anyway,’ Leo went on with a smile, ‘let’s forget about personal problems for a while. Tell me what you think about this new bunch joining us tomorrow.’
    Anthony shrugged. ‘I only really know Marcus. He’s all right. Fancies himself a bit. Then again, he’s terrifyingly bright. That’s probably his main problem – he’s very keen to let you know how much he knows, how right he always is.’
    ‘I think I deflated that particular balloon a couple of months back. He was on the other side in a case involving freight forwarders. Not very significant, not much money involved, but the boy had really gone over the top in preparation. Didn’t see the wood for the trees, as it turned out. You’re right – he didn’t take that particular defeat very well. I put that down to his age. He’ll learn that he can’t win every case.’
    ‘He’d like to.’
    ‘Well, that’s a good sign. Maybe he’ll have mellowed a bit by the time he becomes our first black law lord.’
    ‘You think?’
    ‘Oh, yes. If the lords spiritual and temporal still exist in thirty years’ time, that is.’
    ‘As for the others, I can’t say. Maurice Faber has a pushy reputation, but I don’t know him personally. Roger Fry’s adecent enough bloke, by all accounts. David gets on well with him, which must be a good sign. Ann Halliday’s very able, isn’t she?’
    Leo nodded. ‘She can be quite formidable, the kind of person that others often underestimate. To their cost. I suspect she was under-employed at Three Wessex Street, which is why she’s made the move. I’ve known her a long time. We were at Bar School together. Nice girl. Quite good-looking once, but she’s let herself go a bit.’ Leo sipped his drink reflectively.
    Anthony gave him a wry glance. No doubt Leo had once considered Ann Halliday worth the effort. Perhaps he’d even made the effort. Few people of any passing attraction escaped Leo’s promiscuous attentions.
    For the next half hour they talked idly of the respective merits of the new tenants, and exchanged chambers’ gossip, until Anthony felt a return of the peaceful, familiar pleasure he had always derived from being with Leo.
    By the time they parted, around half past eight, Leo felt pretty sure that he had managed to restore something of the old equilibrium, and that Anthony would think twice about leaving. An interesting exercise in subliminal persuasion, but not exactly a difficult one.

    On the kitchen table in the house in