‘Of course he’s saying that,’ Ursula snapped. ‘And I do wish you’d call me Ursula. Mum is such a dreary world. Robert had to have known. He was driving the car that hit Lucy, wasn’t he? You were there. Robert killed that poor girl and he buried her body in the bog. And you lied about it, Kitty. I know you were only a child, but think of the damage that’s been caused by your lies. I thought I’d raised both my children to be honest and truthful. But the first bit of trouble you found yourself in, you tried to lie your way out of it. Nature over nurture, I fear. You’re your father’s daughter, after all.’

‘You’ve just told us you didn’t know what happened,’ Emer interrupted. ‘If that’s the case, how do you know he buried her in the bog?’

‘Don’t you think I’ve had enough time over the last few days to piece things together?’ Ursula said. ‘I do have a brain, you know.’

‘So you’re just guessing that’s what he did?’ Emer said.

‘How dare you?’ Ursula said. ‘Kitty, do you see what she’s like? It’s been a challenge raising her. She’s got a mean, nasty side to her. You, on the other hand, were always such a good girl. That’s why it’s so wonderful to have you back, finally.’

Their mother’s ability to reimagine the past was astonishing, Emer thought. The truth was, she’d always been harder on Kitty than she’d ever been on Emer. Probably because Kitty had been braver than Emer, more willing to stand up to their mother. Something Emer had always been too scared to do.

‘I saw you,’ Kitty said, her voice low and hard.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘You know exactly what I’m talking about.’

The tension between them was tangible. The room fizzed with it. Emer couldn’t take her eyes off her mother, waiting to see how she’d react. There was a pattern with Ursula, a woman who didn’t see anything wrong with lying and cheating or doing whatever was needed to get her own way. Whenever she was called out on a lie, or a wrongdoing, she always responded in the same way. First, she’d act wounded, as if she couldn’t believe anyone would ever doubt her. This would rapidly become a defensive anger, until it eventually became too exhausting for the other person and, inevitably, they would back down.

That wasn’t going to happen now, though. This time, there was no Robert to intervene on his wife’s behalf and do everything he could to smooth the situation over as quickly as possible. This time, Emer wasn’t alone.