‘Silly me,’ Iona replied, her teeth gritted as she turned to look at Maria. ‘I must have missed the ferry.’ Her eyes were as black as coal yet they still sparkled fiercely bright. Maybe Danny’s mum would finally see in her what he had for weeks – that Iona wasn’t actually that nice.

‘You never had any intention of going?’ his mum was saying. She sounded pretty annoyed about it, but then if her aunt was sick she should have gone.

‘I was never here for the money,’ Iona snapped.

Danny didn’t have a clue what they were talking about, but in the moment they both seemed to have forgotten he was standing there.

‘So what are you going to do now?’ His mum’s voice was shrill and he could tell by the way she panted that she was scared of the answer.

Iona laughed. ‘Oh well, let me see.’ Danny watched the arm that was clutching his book relax. If he caught her off guard … ‘I could start by telling Danny here what you did. Would you be interested, Dan?’ she said, cocking her head to one side.

His mum took a step closer. ‘Danny, get back to the house,’ she hissed.

He didn’t move as he kept his eyes on his book. Of course he was interested in what his mum had done, but he was more focused on the fact that if he just reached out he could probably grab the book while Iona wasn’t paying attention.

‘Danny,’ his mum said in her firm voice. ‘Let’s go back to the house.’ Finally she must have clocked his drawing pad in Iona’s hand because she said, ‘Give it to him. Please. He doesn’t deserve to be brought into this. Then you and I can talk.’

Now he was annoyed because Iona stretched the book further out of his reach. ‘He watches everything, everyone, you know that?’ she was saying, flapping it in her hand. ‘It’s weird.’

‘Give me back my book.’ His cry was louder now, more desperate.

‘And Bonnie’s got issues, I assume you realise?’ She wasn’t listening to him. ‘I really don’t think we’d have been friends in a different life. I’m not surprised she doesn’t have any others.’

‘Don’t say that,’ his mum roared. ‘Don’t say that about my daughter.’

‘Only she’s not your daughter, is she?’ Iona yelled as Danny finally saw his chance: Iona’s arm had dropped again. ‘She knows you don’t like her as much as the others. Everyone can see you don’t have as much time for her, but then I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t have much time for her either—’

‘Stop!’ Maria shouted just as Iona was screaming, ‘She has what I should have had,’ and Danny yelled, ‘Give me back my book.’