Andrew made a sound of disgust. She shrugged her thin shoulders at him. “They told me the abortion had damaged me, it had been done by some woman who’d been a nurse, I’d very likely never have children. That was after Charles had gone. I was living alone in our house in Falmouth and one day I drove over to see my mother. She’d not been well, it was summer flu or something. I stopped outside a shop, a sort of village general store, and bought her some milk and a bottle of aspirins and the morning paper. Isn’t it strange how you remember these things? Every detail? I went back to the car and saw this little boy standing on the edge of the wood. Well, it wasn’t really a wood, more a strip of trees between the road and the field on top of the cliff. He looked at me and said, ‘I want my mummy.’ ”

Silver made an inarticulate sound of pain or memory. I couldn’t tell which. Alison looked as if she wanted to touch him. If she did, I thought, if she just laid a hand on his arm, he’d strike her. It was a mad idea, he’d never do that, never, not Silver. She sat quite still, her hands on the table.

“Do you know what I thought? Suppose he was saying that about me? Suppose it was me he was missing and wanted? And I said to myself, I’ll make it me. I’ll make him want me. I said to him, ‘I’ll take you to your mummy,’ and I picked him up and put him in the car.” She turned to Silver. “I should say, I picked you up and put you in the car.” He gave no sign he noticed what she had said. He was in the same position, sitting quite still. “I didn’t go to my mother’s. I never got the milk and aspirins and paper to her. I turned around and drove home. You told me your name was Michael. When I got you home and your mother wasn’t there you started crying.”

Silver spoke then. “I can do without the details.”

She seemed genuinely surprised. “I’m sorry. I didn’t imagine it would— well, hurt you. Not after so long.”

“Your imagination was at fault.”

Andrew seemed to approve what he had said. He nodded to himself. And suddenly everyone was ranged against Alison, I among them. I tried not to show how I felt because I was sorry for her too.