“I didn’t think about that then. I just wanted to stop Peter going to prison. I knew that Tom had never been in trouble before. I suppose I thought that he’d just get a fine and that Peter would repay him. He was Peter’s friend.”

“What did Peter think about all this?”

“He never knew. He knew that Tom was up in court, I suppose. But he never knew that it was his dope which put Tom there. I don’t expect he even missed his coat. He was always losing things. But I never saw him again, after that party, and as far as I know Tom didn’t see him again either.”

“But Tom did want something in return, didn’t he?”

“He never asked,” she said defensively. Then all in a rush: “ Yes, he did want something. He wanted company, affection, to be needed. All the things that most of the birdwatchers want.”

“Did he ask you to come and live here?”

“Not directly. I went to my mother in London when I left Tresco. It didn’t work out, but I waited and had the baby there. I’d written to Tom, just to thank him, and I’d said that I was fed up at home. He wrote back, straightaway, and said that he knew that there was a cottage to let in Fenquay. All that I told you about my childhood in Fenquay was true. I was so happy here. It seemed like, well, like a magic coincidence. So I moved. He seemed to take it for granted that we would be friends, more than friends. He was so lonely, and I was so depressed. I lost all my confidence after being in the hospital, and he was good for me. He took control, I didn’t have to make any decisions.”

She paused, put her cup on the floor beside her, and when she looked at George again, there were tears in her eyes.

“I did try to make him happy. But it wasn’t honest, it wasn’t real. It seemed so wonderful when he talked about the job in Bristol. I counted the weeks until he was due to start.”

“And then,” George said, “ he changed his mind, wanted to marry you, and said, if you refused, that he would try to get custody of Barnaby or have him put into care. Did you know then why he did that?”

“No,” she said. “It was awful, dreadful. I suppose I thought that he needed me too much. Or at least that he needed someone to look after. And he had grown very fond of Barnaby. He liked to make believe that we were a real family, that he was the father.”

“But in fact, just before you had your row, Tom had been to see Ella. Ella read him a letter she had just received from Peter. Peter was intending to come and live in Norfolk. Tom wanted you married and out of the way before you realized that Peter was free.”