He kept his steps light on the stairs — he didn’t want to have to try for conversation with anyone but Ford, particularly not Jemima. Jemima knew Adrienne, and maybe cared for her — if things went wrong (wronger), then it would be horrible if she learned from the paper after seeing Cash in her house.

They woke no one, or no one woke up enough to come out. They were in the light, now — Ford’s eyes on Cash had him aware of how this looked. He’d been wearing these clothes since early morning; there were new creases in them. Ash from the floo was still on his peacoat because he had not bothered to shake it off. He suspected the hollows under his eyes were more pronounced than usual, because he’d been sick for so much of the day.

He felt self-conscious. Cash smoothed his coat with his hands; the paper crinkled inside his coat. He watched Ford watch him.