All I care about now is whether I will be able to make it back down to the basement unnoticed, so I creep along the corridor on tiptoe, moving as quickly as I can, and push open the door that leads into the small room hiding the entrance to the cellar. In the dim light the door looks as if it is closed, and my heart sinks. I inch towards it, certain that when I push against it I will find it locked and will have to admit to Thea that I have broken her rules. I should be safely back downstairs with the others by now, and I have no idea how she will react. Will she tell me I have to leave?

I nudge the door with my bare toe and sigh with relief. They have left it ajar for me.

Closing the door as softly as I can, I scuttle down the stairs. The women are at the table. The younger one looks up, and I know I am going to have to speak to her again. Something is far from right in this house, and without drugs in my system I am seeing things more clearly every day. The older woman hasn’t lifted her eyes.

‘Is your husband called Vincent?’ I ask her.

She slowly raises her head and looks at me, deep frown lines between her eyes. ‘No.’ She seems unprepared to offer any more, but if she isn’t Vincent’s wife, who is?

The younger woman is still looking at me, and I indicate with my head that she should follow me. I don’t know if she will or not, but I walk to my room and wait.

I don’t hear her approach, her soft bare feet making no sound on the lino, but when I look up she is standing in the doorway. She says nothing, so I pat the bed by my side. She frowns at me, as if I am asking her to do something dreadful, but then her features relax a little and she makes her way towards me.

‘What’s your name?’ I ask her. ‘And don’t tell me it’s Judith. I know you’re not Judith.’

She looks perplexed, as if this is all too much for her, and I realise I must try to wean her off the drugs if I am going to get any sense out of her. She doesn’t answer, and I reach for her hand.

‘Listen, I’m not spying on you, but when I first came down here I had a bit of a look around. I’m sorry, but I found your diary.’

Her eyes open wide. ‘I’m not supposed to have that. Thea will take it if she finds it.’

‘Well I suggest you find a better place to hide it then. How did you get it down here? They haven’t let me have any of my own stuff.’