No one ever said anything like that in public, though: no retorts, no jokes made, no teasing. Certainly no one mentioned the fact that, unbeknownst to Michael, yet quietly celebrated by the rest of the family, Ned had already published papers on the relationship between finance, ethics and religion, which had been commented on by various bishops, and was making quite a name for himself at Holy Trinity Brompton, where he worshipped. Anything like that was kept firmly under wraps. We, including Dad, who had been in the Special Forces, were far too scared to stir the pot. I was scared that if I took Michael on, he’d take it out on the children. Dad was scared that if he squared up to him, he’d take it out on me. The children were scared on my account and – well. You get the picture. In fact, I’m almost certain that Michael had suggested something along those lines at his lunch with Ned, hence Ned’s willingness to drop his dream so quickly. But I don’t even want to think about it. Nor, indeed, did I have to, now. Michael was dead. And no one, amongst his immediate family, was going to pretend that was anything other than a relief. Except Amanda, of course.

Amanda was on the phone most days, sobbing and wailing, wondering how I was. And of course I had to sort of pretend I was bearing up, which was strenuous, so in the end, I’m afraid I didn’t always take her calls. Maybe one in three. Because she’d be on the phone for hours. And recently, she’d been rather insulting. Calling me hard-hearted. And the odd thing was, when he was alive we hadn’t really heard from her much, because it seemed to me they disliked each other so. Michael called her a dismal old bitch and on the odd occasion I had lunch with her, in some smart Chelsea restaurant of her choice, she’d complain bitterly about him, wondering how on earth I stood him, before frowning at the end of the meal, and wishing she could remember who paid last time. I’d sigh and reach for my purse. Like many rich trust-fund children, Amanda was tight. I felt sorry for her now, because after all, her only remaining blood relative had gone, but as Helena said, I really didn’t need to land myself with Amanda, when I was finally free of Michael. And now she’d taken to popping round. Sure enough, just as I was gathering my strength to work out what I’d need to clear out before the lodger moved in, the doorbell rang and there she was on the doorstep.