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time Frank had poured a few drinks we were getting on like we’d known each other all our lives. Vivie and Billie knew a lot of people in common, and by the end of the evening they had their arms round each other like sisters. Frank was delighted.”
    â€œYes, I’m sure he was.”
    â€œWhat’s that supposed to mean, Mitch?”
    â€œWell, it sounds as if he planned all this very carefully. Making you part of the family, binding you closer to him. That suited his purposes nicely.”
    â€œIf you’re suggesting that Frank was the one who did all the running, you’re wrong. I was just as bad as he was. I wanted him all the time. I would have taken stupid risks just to spend time alone with him—he was always the one who advised caution. I was head over heels. God, it was mad—really, it was like a form of madness. The more I saw him, the more I wanted him. It wasn’t just the way he made me feel when we were in bed together, although that was a big part of it. It’s the way he made me feel as a man—he was so confident, so clever, so experienced, and that’s how I started
to feel. He cared about me, and he wanted me to do well. He taught me things. I’ve never felt so…so cared for.”
    I knew that Morgan’s relationship with his own father had been chilly and distant, without much love on either side. I didn’t wish to sound like some kind of crazy trick cyclist, so I said nothing—but this sounded like a mixed-up Oedipus complex to me.
    â€œSo what happened?”
    â€œWe carried on like that for months. It seems like a dream, or a nightmare, to me now. I suppose what really snapped me out of it was when Teddy was born. Suddenly I couldn’t just leave home at the drop of a hat. I had responsibilities, I had a loving, beautiful wife and two children who needed a father. I tried to talk to Frank.”
    â€œAnd he didn’t want to hear it?”
    â€œOn the contrary,” said Morgan. “He was very understanding. He said that my duty was with my family, and that he didn’t expect to see so much of me. And he was as good as his word. I didn’t see him for a couple of weeks, then a couple more, then a month. I couldn’t stand it, Mitch. I couldn’t sleep. I wasn’t eating. Billie didn’t notice much because she was preoccupied with the children, and to be honest it wasn’t easy to sleep through the night even without Frank on my mind. But eventually I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to arrange a meeting with him at the bank anyway, and afterwards I told him that we were going out for dinner. I couldn’t stand being without him anymore.”
    â€œAnd he would have known that, Morgan.”
    â€œWhat? Maybe. Perhaps it was all part of his plan. I don’t know.”
    â€œAnd what happened that night?”
    â€œWe had dinner at his club. It was all very civilized. I tried to touch him under the table, like I had before, but he very discreetly moved my hand away. He said we needed to talk about business.”

    â€œReally? At a time like that? What was so important?”
    â€œHe had an offer to make me. He said he realized that, with a growing family, my salary was pretty stretched. He seemed to know exactly how much I earned, and exactly what my outgoings were. I don’t know if he’d been prying, or if it was just a shrewd guess; like I say, he was a brilliant businessman. And it was true—the money didn’t go as far as I’d have liked. We were still living in the old house in town at this time, of course, and with two children on the go there just wasn’t enough room. We didn’t want to bring them up in town, we wanted to move out somewhere with more space and fresh air. Like this.”
    â€œI see.”
    â€œHe must have read my mind. Because he said that he’d like to offer me a helping hand.”
    â€œA loan?”
    â€œNot a loan,