Liam O’Grady stood at the wide table, in his pristine white shirt and neatly pressed deep blue trousers, looking for all the world like a model in a men’s fashion magazine. I made out Finn St Just who was lounging in a chair beside his brother.

The northerly light fell into the large room, pale and diffused, for the myriad glass panels were helping it to filter in slowly, and the aroma of cigarettes, leather, and whiskey greeted me.

*

This was a man’s den.

The overwhelming masculine power that radiated from the walls, made me shrink in alarm.

There was nothing soft and feminine here.

And I bet, I...