‘Robin?’ The familiar voice filled the car. ‘It’s me. I just got home from work and found a very shaky Len on my doorstep.’

Her mother wouldn’t let her go until she’d sat for half an hour and drunk the hot chocolate she made her. ‘For the shock. I can see your hands shaking, Robin. I’m not having you on the motorway until you’ve calmed down a bit.’ She’d started to remonstrate then gave in. Alone in the bathroom, she dropped her head into her hands and felt her whole body trembling.

The M40 again, this time alone, the tail-lights ahead streaming in the dark, road signs looming: London, London. The supper Christine had packed for her – ‘All finger-food, I know you won’t stop’ – sat untouched on the passenger seat. She was buffeted by waves of emotion: fury at Lennie for scaring her; relief so profound it felt almost religious; guilt; fury again.

When she reached Shepherd’s Bush and pulled up behind Adrian’s BMW, she leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes for a moment, collecting herself. Rain pattered onto the bonnet from the branches of the lime tree. Her legs were still shaking as she climbed the front steps.

Lennie opened the door, face apprehensive. Robin pulled her into a hug so tight that after a few seconds she wriggled loose. ‘Ow, Mum, too hard.’ Then she laid her cheek back against Robin’s shoulder. ‘I’m really sorry.’

‘It’s all right, it doesn’t matter. Just don’t do it again or I’ll murder you with my own bare hands, okay?’ She laughed but the lump in her throat made it come out wrong.

As she’d known she would, Len disappeared the moment Adrian handed Robin a glass of wine. She had no energy to refuse it if she’d wanted to; the adrenaline that had been coursing through her since the phone call in Hockley was gone, wire cut. From the sitting room came the sound of voices; Lennie had turned on the TV.

‘You look shattered,’ Adrian said. ‘Sit down.’

She pulled out a chair, making its wooden legs screech on the slate floor. It was an effort not to put her head on the table; she felt like she’d just got out of bed after surgery. ‘I can’t believe she came all the way here on her own,’ she said.

‘Independent woman. Where does she get it?’ A twitch in the cheek, half a smile.