On Wednesday evening, Gerry McCann flew back to Portugal after a hectic three day trip to Washington DC - the latest and farthest-flung staging post on his mission to champion the cause of abducted children and maximise publicity for his missing daughter, Madeleine.Settling into his sleeper bed in Virgin Upper Class (mindful of the sniping about the £946,000 fund for Madeleine, of which £67,000 has been spent, he bought an economy ticket, but was given a complimentary upgrade, the 39-year-old heart consultant was exhausted.
But onlookers remarked that he appeared buoyant for the first time in the three months since his four-year-old daughter was taken.
Ultimately, of course, the McCanns will measure success and failure solely on whether Madeleine is returned safely.
However, according to Justine McGuinness, a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate who was recently appointed the Find Madeleine campaign manager, Mr McCann felt the venture had gone "extremely well". This is despite the fact Mr McCann had encountered some unexpectedly hostile questions, notably from Chris Cuomo, the Good Morning America breakfast show anchor.
"Your story is pretty puzzling - it's tough to understand why you and your wife came to leave your children to go to dinner," Cuomo asserted, remarking that no American parent would "leave their kids in that way".
For those who have followed the relentlessly miserable story of Madeleine's disappearance, Gerry McCann's lightening of mood this week - though probably brief - was heartening. That said, however, watching him assume his unwanted ambassadorial role with such purpose and vigour, it was impossible to avoid contrasting his demeanour with that of his wife, Kate, who waited - forlorn, as ever - in the blisteringly hot Algarve.
For Madeleine's mother, the only white house that matters is the secluded villa in Praia da Luz, which has become the family's refuge since they escaped from Apartment 5A at the Ocean Club resort complex, a place of dark memories now occupied by other British holidaymakers. Each morning, Kate returns to the scene of Madeleine's abduction to drop off her two-year-old twins, Shaun and Amelie, at the creche.
On Thursday, after she had settled them in, I happened upon her, walking down to the shore. There she sat alone on the rocks, clutching Madeleine's pink Cuddle Cat toy as always, and gazing out at the Atlantic. Thinner than ever, she has developed a stoop, as though the emotional burden she carries is strapped across her shoulders.
How was she bearing up, I asked tentatively, shaking her limp hand and wishing her well. She forced a faint smile. "Yeah...well...thanks," were the only words she could summon.
Mr McCann's mother, Eileen, confirms the impression that 86 days after this highly publicised child abduction, Madeleine's parents are reacting in markedly different ways to their loss. "Kate is really down; not one bit better than she was (when Madeleine was taken). I think she's actually going backwards," the 67-year-old widow told me from her home in Glasgow, where she has just returned after a fortnight at the Portuguese villa. All she keeps saying is: 'I need Madeleine back'. But Gerry is a lot better. He's thinking in terms of missing children."
According to Philomena McCann, neither her brother nor sister-in-law enjoys being in the public eye. But Kate feels particularly uneasy and will put herself forward only if she believes it is essential to further her cause. However, as Gerry is accustomed to addressing audiences at medical conferences, he is far more comfortable in the spotlight. He has become the public face of the campaign (including receiving calls of support from Gordon Brown) while his wife remains in the background.
This could turn out to be a watershed week for the McCanns, with Gerry making strides towards a deliverance of sorts through campaigning work, while Kate retreats further into the depths of her anguish. Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, this shift comes at the time when, in some quarters at least, the tide of goodwill for the couple is beginning to take a disquieting turn.
Reading between the lines with this news item ... there are many many clues towards the real story behind the scenes.
