Jez was surprised how much he wanted to see Sophie, how often he thought about her. All this after one meeting. He hoped he wasn’t going to make a fool of himself again, then smiled. Been there, done that. Could survive it again, if he had to. But perhaps … He didn’t let himself finish that thought. Not yet.

When Tom arrived back in the north with Stephen Perriman, he and the divorce lawyer went to his house first to see Gail and formally tell her he was instituting divorce proceedings. He couldn’t bear to do anything in an underhand way.

He led the way inside and found to his embarrassment that his wife was lying in the front room. She’d obviously passed out and it wasn’t yet teatime. There were two bottles lying nearby, one empty, the other almost empty, with a damp patch next to it on the carpet where it had fallen over.

The lawyer studied her, then turned to Tom. ‘If you can bear it, we could do with another witness to this.’

He looked down at his wife. Her hair was lank, her clothing dishevelled and dirty, her mouth open as she snored slightly. He hated to bring in a witness, but the thought of the kids made him agree. ‘Jane Burtill next door has seen it all before, and she’s helped out with the kids quite a lot. She’s like an extra grandmother, really. She’s a widow and never had children of her own so she says she enjoys it. I’ve – um, relied on her quite a bit in the past few months. I don’t know what I’d have done without her.’

He fetched Jane, who nodded as the lawyer explained the situation.

When Perriman had finished, she said quietly, ‘Well, I’ll testify to what I’ve seen, of course I will, though I hope it won’t be necessary. It’s not good to have children in a tug of war.’

‘I’m grateful.’

She looked at the still figure on the floor. ‘Can we get Gail to bed now, Tom? Whatever she’s done, she needs looking after.’

‘She’ll be offered rehabilitation as part of the settlement, all expenses paid,’ the lawyer said quietly.

‘She won’t accept it. She’ll either continue downhill till she’s shocked into stopping or she’ll drown in the booze.’ Jane looked from one man to the other. ‘I’ve some experience with this. My husband was a drunkard and it killed him.’

‘My client wants to help his wife if he can,’ the lawyer said smoothly.

‘He’s a good lad, Tom is, but he has to think of his children now.’

Tom and the lawyer carried Gail up to bed, then Jane shooed them out. ‘I’ll clean her up. She’s wet herself and needs changing.’

Tom avoided the lawyer’s eyes. It had happened before.

After that they left her to sleep it off.

‘I’m going to miss those kids of yours,’ Jane said as she went towards the front door.

An idea struck Tom suddenly. ‘You don’t want a job as nanny, do you? Only, we have to hire someone and I’m sure Hayley and Ryan would be happier with you. It’d mean you moving to London, but my father said he’d provide accommodation.’