‘Extraordinarily rosy-cheeked, that girl.’

‘Effect of high-altitude living,’ David said. ‘She comes from some tiny village up in the Italian Alps. You get that sort of thing above the fifteen hundred metre level. The small capillaries rupture – I’m not sure if it’s the low pressure or the cold winters. Perhaps both.’

‘Now you mention it, I remember seeing a lot of glowing complexions at Zermatt.’

‘That’s it. She’s a pleasant morsel, don’t you think?’

Andrew nodded. ‘Very pleasant.’

‘Tempting, too, but quite apart from her simple Catholic virtue, which I suspect is still unspoiled, it would be embarrassing for Maddie.’