‘I have a few hours. It’s a direct one at least. I had to get the bus here from New York because of the tortoises. What’s this Mitch like?’

‘The kids will be thrilled with their tortoises, thank you. Mabs will probably want to call them Jimin and J-Hope. Ash prefers the Yankees—’

‘Seren, you didn’t answer me. Is Claudia happy? Is Mitch good to her?’

‘Yeah,’ she says. ‘They’re very happy. I’ll see you out.’

She’s holding something back, I know she is. I stand in the porch facing her, like I did when I first arrived, waiting for it. She grabs something from a short fumble through the drawer in the hallway table and hands it to me.

It’s a picture of two little girls in a swimming pool. Us in Madeira on the pool noodles. Sun shining. Bobby Fairly chatting to Dad in the background. ‘I always liked this one too.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Mum did love you, you know. She… didn’t know how to help you. Nor did Dad. Nor do I.’

‘Yeah, well, I can help myself now.’

She wants to say something else, I know she does, and I wait for it.

‘Ivy is fine, OK? You don’t need to worry about her…’

‘But?’

‘Claudia’s sick. That’s why she got in touch with me. She has breast cancer. They’ve caught it early but she’s scared. If something happens to her, Mitch is going to adopt Ivy.’

‘Oh.’

‘I didn’t want to tell you. You’re settled and happy and I’m so pleased.’

‘Why would Mitch getting Ivy be a bad thing?’

‘It wouldn’t,’ she says, guardedly.

‘You said Claudia was scared.’

‘Well, she’s asked me to take Ivy if the worst happens. She’s going to put it all in writing. It’s just belt and braces. That woman who arranged her adoption, Heather—’

‘—Wherryman?’

‘Yeah, she’s going to help her.’

I can’t speak. I’m losing myself. Rhiannon’s rising up from her resting place, like a zombie from the dead. ‘Why doesn’t she want Mitch to have her?’

‘Well, Mitch isn’t really a… dad type.’

‘What do you mean, “a dad type”? Why marry him then?’

‘I don’t know, she fell in love, I guess.’

My heart thumps in my ears. ‘What about Claudia’s sister in Australia, AJ’s mum?’

‘Claudia fell out with her when they heard about AJ’s death and she kept them from seeing Ivy. It escalated and they lost visitation rights.’

‘What happened?’

‘I don’t really know. But Mitch was supposed to be the glue that kept them together. Claudia’s desperate to have the perfect family, and they almost have it. They’ve got this wonderful house in London, in a nice area, Claudia got a terrific job at this publishers but Mitch is a little—’

‘WHAT?’