‘My goodness,’ I said, staggered, ‘how extraordinary. You don’t mean…?’

‘Well, not yet. Marina fancies herself in black far too much to give it up for at least a year, but I think now that she’s so rich, and Alexei is so poor, it’s very much on the cards.’

‘You’re not jealous?’ I said anxiously.

‘Not at all.’ He bent over and kissed me. ‘But I really don’t fancy Marina as a stepmother.’