He told me it would be good exercise for the baby.”

A suffocating, dead silence fell over the foyer.

Evelyn’s smile evaporated from her face.

Arthur stopped where he stood, absolutely still.

And Marcus blinked, and shook his head, and forced a small, hollow laugh, the laugh of a man whose mind is refusing to accept what his ears have heard.

“Nora, what are you saying?” he stammered.

“Chloe wouldn’t, Julian wouldn’t, leave you in coach and take a sleeper car with, with my wife.

That doesn’t make any sense.” And I looked at Marcus, this good and gentle man who was about to have his world broken, and I said the thing as gently as such a thing can be said.