David had ordered champagne cocktails. “You like these, don’t you?” he asked, raising his glass and smiling at me across the table in a charming first-floor room the hotel hired out for private parties. It had swagged curtains and a view of the river. I realized it must be above the main dining room, where I had eaten that uncomfortable meal with Aidan.

“I love champagne cocktails!” I raised my glass too, watching the sugar lump at the bottom sending its spray of bubbles towards the surface. “They are so pretty!” I took a sip. “And sweet, too!”

“Are you speaking of the drink or of yourself?” asked David archly.

Thrilled by this gallantry, I laughed. “I do not consider myself pretty, or sweet. But if you care to think I am, that is your business.”

“Then I will cherish that belief.” He drank some of his cocktail. “As I cherish your company, my dear.”

I drank too, and we grinned at each other. I had never known such happiness. I was full of an energy and restlessness I could not explain. I felt as if I could spread my arms wide and fly out of the window on a cushion of pure contentment. David – my darling, beautiful David – was here with me instead of somewhere else, with someone else. My feelings had no boundaries; the certainty that I did not love in vain filled the universe. “And I yours,” I told him.

As we began our meal, which I scarcely ate, David explained why he had been so busy. “I had things to deal with at the house,” he said, “you know, this place I’ve recently bought. It needs renovating and modernizing. The bathrooms are a nightmare. I’m living there, but it’s not fit for visitors.”

I dismissed the memory of Aidan telling me that David held parties there. Jealousy again. Aidan lived in a flat in London. I did not know what it was like, but it could not possibly be as smart as a house on an island with, apparently, more than one bathroom. The houses in Haverth, I reflected uncharitably, had no bathrooms at all.

“So now, thankfully,” David was saying, “those infernal architects and insurers and heaven knows what have left me alone, at least temporarily, and I can devote this evening to my favourite pastime: having dinner with a beautiful girl.” He twinkled at me, sipping wine. “Now that the filming is almost done, and I shall be shut up in that stuffy editing room with those tedious men and their little machines for God knows how long, I must get my fill of my dear Clara while I can, must I not?”

I smiled shyly. I never knew how to behave when he said such things. “Um … so how much longer will filming last, do you think?”

“Well, the money men are satisfied with progress so far, and I think I’m satisfied with what we’ve already done. There’ll be a break over Christmas and New Year, of course, but we’re scheduled to finish at the end of January, and provided nothing goes drastically wrong, I think we will.”

Christmas was two weeks away. January was thirty-one days long. I had only about six weeks before my reason to be with David would disappear. Unless, of course, there was a different, more permanent reason for us to be together. “What will you do next?” I asked conversationally. “Another film for David Penn Productions?”

He considered for a moment, his eyes on my face. “Actually, Clara my dear, I am thinking of following in Marjorie’s footsteps and trying my hand in California. Of course, I have a better chance of success than she ever did. She is quite deluded, you know.”

I was dismayed. “America! But you are a success here!”

“Exactly.” He leaned forward eagerly. “So I can be a greater success there. California is where the future of film-making is. They have a lot of space, fine weather and people who are prepared to put money into the industry and make it into something really big. I have some contacts there who are keen to introduce me to the men who matter. I really feel I should take the opportunity.”

Seeing my disappointment, he took my hand. “We’ll have to see how this film does,” he said gently, “but I’m willing to wager that there will be plenty of other opportunities for Clara Hope, here and in California. If she wishes to seize them, of course.”

Did he mean he might take me with him? I could not ask. “Clara Hope is ready for anything!” I blurted.

He laughed. “In that case, I am very glad to be in her company.” He took the bottle of wine out of the cooler and filled my glass. “Drink up, my dear.”