I leaned on the handle of the hoe. ‘I think it’s someone who only values their own opinion, who views the world in terms of how it affects them, am I right?’

She exhaled. ‘They’re a lot more dangerous than that. They tell you what you want to hear, they’ll pursue you relentlessly and make you feel loved like no one else ever has. And once you return that love, bit by bit, day by day, they cut you off from your friends and family and from who you used to be, moulding you into the person they want you to be.’

I stared at her. That was almost the exact thought I’d had last night, when I’d wondered what had happened to the old me.

‘At the time I didn’t even notice it,’ she continued. ‘Or if I did, I loved him so much that I made excuses for his behaviour: mistaking his jealousy for love, telling myself that his controlling ways were simply because he wanted to care for me, do what was best for me.’

My heart rate began to gallop; this all sounded too familiar. Why had I never realized this about Harvey before? A single tear rolled down the woman’s cheek. She wiped it away and I gave her a sympathetic smile.

‘I’m so sorry,’ I said, not sure what else I could say.

‘I’d have loved to have had children, but every year he came up with another excuse: we couldn’t afford it, he didn’t want to share me with anyone, he’d booked us an exotic holiday which would be ruined if I was pregnant. And then I went through an early menopause when I was forty and the door closed on that dream for ever. For years I felt like I was simply existing instead of living.’

A shiver ran down my spine. Would this be me in the future? I took a fortifying breath and gritted my teeth. No it wouldn’t, I decided, I wouldn’t let it.

‘Why didn’t you leave him?’ I asked without thinking.

She sucked in air sharply and then slid her sunglasses up to the top of her head to reveal pretty blue eyes with a lattice of fine lines at the corners.

‘Forget I asked that,’ I said, glancing over my shoulder on the off chance someone was in earshot. Asking that sort of question would not go down well with my boss. ‘It’s none of my business.’

She smiled sadly. ‘It’s fine. I tried to leave him, but I was never quite brave enough. I should have made a complete break, no lingering goodbyes, no contact. The trouble was both of our families lived close by; if I’d left him, I’d have been forced to leave my parents too. They were elderly, they couldn’t have managed without me – nor me without them, really.’