‘She said that you were fighting for your life in hospital,’ she continues. ‘And that your little girl had been killed. I was upset and told her that I wanted to visit you. That’s when she started to lie.’

‘What did she tell you?’

‘She said that you were responsible,’ she says. ‘That you’d killed her, like you’d tried to kill me. She said you had a history of mental illness and violence and that you were dangerous.’

I see Barbara standing on that riverbank, watching, and I shake my head.

‘I wasn’t going to come back at all, but then she was so nice. She apologized for stopping her visits,’ continues Julia. ‘She let me stay in Larkfields, came shopping with me, cooked me meals. Basically she became the loving grandmother I’d always wanted. But then you came out of the coma and it all changed; she changed.’

‘In what way?’

‘I don’t know,’ she says, shaking her head. ‘It was like she was on this mission and no one was going to stand in her way. She wanted to destroy you, to get you back for all the things you’d done.’

‘I had no idea. I just thought I was going mad.’

‘I’m sorry, I really am,’ she says, tears filling her eyes. ‘But I was so angry at you. In my head you were this monster who had tried to kill me and then killed your own kid.’

‘Julia, none of those things are true,’ I say. ‘You must believe me. And those letters – well, you saw how I reacted when I read the poem. It was the most beautiful thing.’

‘I do believe you,’ says Julia, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve. ‘It was so hard … not having anyone. I wanted a mother so badly, it hurt.’

‘God, I’m sorry,’ I say. ‘If I could turn back the clock … I just wish you’d told me who you were, that first day when I came to Larkfields. If you’d told me then I could have explained.’

‘It’s okay,’ says Julia softly. ‘You don’t need to explain.’

‘I want to make it up to you,’ I say, my voice trembling. ‘I want to get to know you and, if you’ll let me, I want to be your mum.’

I hear a distant whine. At first it sounds like the wind in the trees. Then I realize it’s the sound of sirens.

I wipe my eyes with the back of my sleeve. ‘Right, you need to listen to me now, my love.’

‘I can’t let you do this,’ says Julia. ‘I can’t let you take the blame for what I did to Barbara.’