‘No. Dominic was . . . not happy, to say the least when I told him I was pregnant. Furious would be more accurate.’ Her eyes fill, and a single tear spills on to her cheek. ‘He told me that he didn’t want the baby, didn’t want to be a father, and that he’d made that perfectly clear from the word go. In his own words, he told me I’d have to choose between him and the child, that he couldn’t stay with me if I carried on with the pregnancy. I was devastated, and we rowed, ferociously. I told him I wouldn’t have an abortion and he packed my bag and told me to leave.’

‘Jesus.’ I can’t believe that Dominic could be that heartless. Then, I see in my mind’s eye the image of him grabbing Fran by the arms, the fury that was written all over his face, the way he smashed his glass across the hearth, and I think, maybe.

Pamela reaches for her mug, taking a sip of the, by now, lukewarm tea. ‘I had nowhere to go. My family disapproved of my relationship with Dominic, so I had cut all ties with them.’ That sounds familiar. I think of Fran’s face as she spoke about Polly, the way she hadn’t spoken to her sister for years because Dominic didn’t like her.

‘So, what did you do? I mean . . .’ I trail off, not wanting to say that I haven’t seen Pamela with a child.

‘I waited, to see if he would change his mind, but he didn’t contact me. I lost the baby. Nothing sinister, he or she just didn’t make it. I was sad, but in the end, I realised that I couldn’t live without him. I didn’t want to be alone, and now I knew that he would never change his mind I could make sure this never happened again. I didn’t want to fall pregnant again – I couldn’t stand the pain if I lost another baby. I went to the house to tell him that I had done what he wanted but I was too late.’

I say nothing, my brain whirring overtime trying to process everything that Pamela has told me.

‘I went to the house and Fran answered the door. In the time it had taken me to lose our child and come to terms with what I wanted in life, he had found Fran, got her pregnant and married her. He’d moved on.’ Her voice is bitter, laced with years of hurt and anger.

‘So why are you here now? Coincidence?’ I deliberately keep my face neutral, not letting her know all the things that are racing through my mind. The fact that he kept her from her family, just as he did to Fran. The idea that he never, ever wanted children.