X: ‘Your marriage must have been in a very bad state. When did this begin?’

H: ‘I beg your pardon?’

X: ‘V has told me that you live separate lives.’

H: ‘That’s not true.’

X: ‘You told me he said I didn’t like you, and was not interested in you. I asked him. He said he had not said this.’

H: ‘He did say it. You must realise he’s telling lies to both of us.’

X: (stubbornly) ‘I trust what he tells me.’

H: ‘He has told lies to both of us.’

Her face sets hard. This must be her famous ‘independence’: she experiences no female solidarity. I see that she means business. I have no resources to deal with such a woman. I’m breathing hard, with one hand over my mouth.