‘But you don’t seem to be in that place at all. At first, I thought you couldn’t bear to be in the house in London because there were too many fond memories. But now I realize you left because you couldn’t wait to start a new life. Couldn’t wait to rid yourself of all traces of my poor darling brother who, let’s face it, was barely cold.’

‘Amanda …’

Her voice was not raised but it had a horrible shrillness to it. The couple at the next table had already glanced across and taken in her clenched face and grim, set mouth. Her hand was shaking as she reached for her glass and knocked back half of it. It was then I registered that the bottle was half empty. Imo was right, I shouldn’t have come.

‘In fact, I’ve never seen such a merry widow. You couldn’t wait to get a nice fat wodge of rent from my brother’s house – a house that, by rights, incidentally, should probably belong to me, because it was bought with my parents’ money. And which you’ll no doubt sell for a fortune the moment the market moves, or when you snare a new man, which is doubtless what you fully intend to do under the guise of,’ she made quotation marks in the air, ‘Looking After Your Parents. In such a delightful, dutiful, caring way.’

I felt my blood rise. ‘I am looking after my parents. And actually, Amanda, Michael bought the house but contributed nothing to the running of it. You know as well as I do, a weekly column in a small literary magazine brought in barely any money at all, whereas—’

‘Oh, whereas you, you had your sparkling literary career, which you lauded over him, knowing he was the real writer in the family. The real wordsmith. But, oh no, you, with your tawdry, tuppenny-ha’penny career, churning out the same old rubbish. The same tired old detective inspector Suzie Woozie—’

I got to my feet. ‘I don’t have to listen to this.’ I realized I was trembling. Her hand flew out and she seized my wrist.

‘Sit,’ she hissed. ‘I haven’t got to the best part yet.’