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Pongo had slunk over to Arlo’s side and his hand rested on the dog’s head. Katie felt that he needed to be connected to the dog.

‘I suppose I have had a couple of hairy moments. It was kind of par for the course with a job like that. Nobody does adventure training so they can live a safe life curled up by the fire … and let’s face it, who hasn’t been involved in something that kept them awake at night?’ He focused on Ned, who nodded.

‘True, but I’m sensing that you must have been involved in some kind of incident or why would you have walked away from such an exciting job?’

Arlo gripped Pongo’s collar and the dog let out a faint whine.

‘Ned!’ Katie exclaimed, determined to end the interrogation.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Arlo, forgive me. I’m fascinated by people’s motivations.’

‘It’s OK,’ Arlo said. ‘And yes, I have been in a few “sticky situations”. There was the time that I had to squeeze through a jagged rift absolutely teeming with cave spiders. It was like something out of Indiana Jones.’

Jess shrieked in horror and Katie threw her hands in front of her face, imagining the seething floor.

‘Noooo!’ Athene waved her hands furiously as if the spiders were about to crawl over her.

‘Oh dear,’ Wanda kept saying. ‘Oh dear.’

Ned grimaced. ‘Jesus. I’d have needed counselling for years after that.’

‘I’m sure that’s quite enough for Christmas Day!’ Wanda said. ‘Shouldn’t we be playing charades or something?’

Ned laughed. ‘I suspect Arlo might find that a lot scarier than being stuck in a cave, and anyway, this is way more interesting.’

‘For you, maybe, but not for Arlo,’ Athene remarked.

Arlo smiled but Katie glimpsed a flicker of dark emotion behind his eyes. She couldn’t put her finger on it. Menace? Fear?

Wanda jumped up. ‘Shall I make us all a nice cup of tea?’

‘I’ll come and help you,’ Jess said.

Athene nodded. ‘You know, Jess, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so enthusiastic about doing the washing-up.’

After they’d gone, Arlo said, ‘Too much information?’

‘You were asked,’ Katie said.

Ned smirked. ‘And you got me out of the washing-up. The spiders must have been a revolting experience but not, I assume, life-threatening. Unless they were killer spiders?’

‘I wouldn’t have fancied being bitten by them but it was an experience.’

‘I’m sensing you’ve had far worse,’ Ned said. ‘Go on, we can take it.’

‘Another time we descended down a forty-metre shaft and realised that the air in the base was unbreathable due to the high levels of carbon dioxide. Climbing back up wasn’t pleasant.’

‘I can’t even imagine,’ Ned said, eyes wide with fascination.

Katie, watching Arlo, thought he now had a tremor in his leg. Her own palms had turned sweaty. Not being able to breathe … trapped …

‘Sounds horrific … absolutely petrifying …’ Ned went on.

Any moment now and he’d be whipping out that new notebook she’d given him and jotting down bullet points.

‘I think we’ve heard enough,’ Katie murmured. This was turning into a duel or a battle of wills with Ned provoking and probing Arlo into revealing more and more private information about his past.

However, Arlo wasn’t going to back down.