Irina’s voice said: ‘I’ll be with you in a moment.’ There was an undeniable erotic effect, Hibson knew, in being alone with a woman in a place deserted by all the others who would usually...

‘What will you drink? Polish vodka? That is the true vodka, you know – the Russian is inferior stuff.’ ‘Very brave of you to say that,’ Tilling said. ‘It’s a bit strong for me, though.’...

‘We’ve talked enough about me.’ She sat down on the couch and patted a cushion for Hibson to sit beside her. ‘What about you? Still chasing the girls, I hear. An air hostess this time,...

‘I like things to be out in the open, Charles. To me, it’s the only basis for human relationships. You could have told me if you’d not wanted us to get in touch with your...

‘Will you not drink some coffee?’ ‘Yes,’ Hibson said, ‘I think I will.’ He went to the table and poured himself a cup. ‘Thank you for bringing it up. I suppose you will have a...

Irina drove in silence as far as the main road. While waiting to turn right, she said: ‘Mademoiselle Limier is nice, isn’t she?’ ‘As far as I could judge.’ ‘And Andrew Tilling.’ It was a...

‘Tragedy isn’t a twentieth-century invention,’ Hibson said. ‘Think of your ’Fifteen and ’Forty-Five. There must have been hundreds of women who lost a husband in one and a son in the next. You won’t leave...

It was unreeling in his mind – an old cinematographic film, torn, stained, faded, but fresh and immediate for all that. For a moment he was afraid of it. But the recollection was private; it...

Tilling said quickly: ‘There were one or two quite good reviews. Of course, reviews don’t really mean much beyond a certain point.’ ‘They still sell all right?’ ‘On that one they increased the print order...

‘And your sister Angela?’ ‘She got married during the war. They have three children.’ ‘I remember her as the most beautiful person I have ever known.’ ‘She has a daughter,’ Hibson said, ‘very like her....