‘It seems to me, Isabel, that your hiding of the truth over the years is what’s caused all this. Your fear of everyone knowing the truth about your husband and your life. You stole my son from me really, you stole him with kindness and love. I respected you so I let you take him, and you were quick to do that, weren’t you? If I remember rightly, he was taken from the house almost as soon as the birth was over. Then you had no more need of me, did you? You couldn’t wait to take him away from me, in case I tainted him somehow.

‘Well, the taint’s there, whether you like it or not. I gave birth to him and now he knows the truth. Any unhappiness is because you thought your elaborate charade would last forever. Well, it didn’t.’

Briony felt the anger spewing from her and was loth to stop it. She had wanted to say these words so many times over the years. How many times had she lain in bed, going through this scenario in her mind? Except in her mind’s eye she had walked in and taken her child with her. Only her child was now a grown man, with children of his own, and all this had come too late. Far too late for any of them.

‘I loved him, Briony, more than you know. I worshipped that boy. Anything I did, I did for him.’

Briony shook her head slowly.

‘You loved him? I loved him as well you know, and what you did wasn’t for him really, Isabel. Be honest. It was all done for yourself.’

Briony realised then that this visit had been a waste of her time and Isabel’s. She’d gathered her bag up from the floor ready to leave when Isabel put a hand on to her arm. It was a wrinkled hand, but the strength in it was surprising.

‘Listen, Briony, let’s try and make something good come out of all this. Through you I could get my son back... You could make him understand...’ Her voice was so low, desperate.

Briony shook the hand off roughly.

‘Through you I lost him, through you I’ll never have him. What makes you think I would help you now? My God, you’ve got a nerve, woman. You’ve got some neck! I wanted to see you one last time, because I know that after today we’ll never see one another again. And do you know something? I’m glad, heartily glad, because you disgust me, Isabel Dumas. You lived a lie, here in your ivory tower. Well, now the lies come home to roost and I’m glad I’m not the only one hurting.’

Daniel listened to all that Vince had said with a face like flint. Boysie finished the story and Daniel nodded slowly.