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remembered the evening he'd joked that maybe Iris had nicked it to give to a boyfriend.
    'One of the blokes from the church choir, I'll bet,' he'd said, making Dana laugh, 'or perhaps it's the parish priest himself.'
    'Priests don't wear ties,' Dana had pointed out.
    'Ah.' He'd tapped the side of his nose. 'Not when they're working they don't, but who knows what they get up to on their days off?'
    She folded the tie carefully and put it back in the drawer. Then, taking a large fluffy towel from the cupboard she went out to the pool and dived in, gasping in shock at how cold it was. As she treaded water, allowing her body to become accustomed to the temperature, she looked up at the windows of her home. Her eyes were automatically drawn to Gus's office and she felt a pang of physical pain. He'd often worked from home and although he would be locked in his office and she in hers, she'd liked knowing he was there. She'd kept out of that room since he'd left. Somehow it felt like she'd be invading his privacy even though it was now empty of all his belongings. But, in truth, the whole house felt empty and slightly alien without him. Dana often found herself creeping around it like an unwelcome stranger.
    Feeling the dark cloud of depression threatening to descend on her once more, Dana began to swim as if her life depended on it. She swam up and down the pool until her limbs trembled with the effort. When she finally stopped for a rest it was to find Iris standing by the pool, a towel in her hands. 'There's a call for you, Mrs— I mean, Dana.'
    Dana's face lit up as she climbed out, took the towel and wrapped it around her. 'Is it Gus?'
    The housekeeper's eyes filled with pity. 'I'm sorry, no.'
    'Then who?' Dana demanded crossly trying to mask her disappointment.
    'Hi, Dana.'
    'Judy?'
    'I just read about you and Gus in the paper and I had to call to make sure you were okay.'
    Dana sighed as she sank into a chair, her body still damp. 'I'm fine.'
    'Are you sure? I just couldn't believe it. I thought you two were happy.'
    'Me too,' Dana admitted, tears pricking her eyes.
    'But what happened?' Judy persisted.
    'He said he wasn't happy any more; that our marriage hadn't turned out the way he'd expected.'
    'That's it?' Judy's voice went up an octave.
    'Pretty much,' Dana said tightly. She didn't want to talk about what Gus had said that night to anyone, particularly not Judy Higgins. 'Look, Judy, I can't really talk right now; I have someone with me. I'll call you back, okay?'
    Judy was not so easily put off. 'Soon, Dana, okay?'
    'Yeah, Judy, soon. Thanks for calling. Bye.' After she hung up, Dana stood up and, wrapping the towel tightly around her, went into the house. She was halfway across the hall when Iris appeared.
    'I'm so sorry, Dana, I didn't mean ...' she trailed off.
    Dana smiled faintly. 'To get my hopes up? Don't worry about it, Iris. He's not going to ring and it's about time I got used to the idea.'
     

Chapter Four
    'You know, you were the last person I expected to be having a drink with on a Saturday night,' Walter said. They were sitting in a quiet corner of the Donovan bar in Brown's Hotel in Mayfair and though it was busy, the conversation was muted and the privacy absolute.
    Gus smiled slightly. 'Thank you for agreeing to see me, Wally.'
    Walter frowned at him over his glass. 'Only my friends call me Wally.'
    'I'm sorry you no longer consider me one.'
    'Are you surprised? I mean, what on earth were you thinking of, Gus? Walking out on Dana, after all this time! What's all that about? Is it another woman?' His lips twitched. 'Or man?'
    Gus shook his head. 'Neither.'
    'Well, come on, then. You didn't come all the way to London just to sit looking at me.'
    'I wanted to ask you about Dana. About what she was like before I came along. What she was like when you first met.'
    Walter shook his head. "You answer my questions and then, maybe, I'll answer yours.'
    Gus shifted uncomfortably and pulled at his collar. His