‘Only because—’ He catches himself.

‘Because what?’

‘Because I knew that’s what you expected me to do.’

A beat passes as his words sink in.

‘That’s base.’

He looks at her steadily. ‘Why did you keep the video?’

‘I didn’t. I forgot it was even on there.’

But you found it, she thinks. Somehow you logged in and you dug around in my files until you unearthed whatever it was you were looking for.

‘What is it?’ she asks. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

He hands her the laptop. ‘Thank you.’

‘What for?’

‘For making this easier.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ She clutches the laptop to her chest.

‘I think you do. You weren’t the only one who wanted to have a conversation after the Gozo retreat ended.’

‘Tom—’

‘Let me speak.’ He pushes his hands into his pockets and stares down at the ground, his tongue playing over his teeth as he searches for the right words. ‘I loved her.’ He glances up to gauge her reaction. ‘And you knew that. That’s why you screamed at me that she was dead, in this exact spot, a couple of days ago.’

‘She wasn’t the only one who loved you, though,’ Kate says quietly.

Her husband closes his eyes, inhales slowly through his nose, then opens them again, all emotion extinguished. Kate’s chest tightens. He’s going to ask her for a divorce.

I can pull this back, she tells herself, as she reaches into her pocket for her inhaler. I’ve done it before, I can do it again. Her fingers close around the cool plastic but she doesn’t remove the inhaler from her pocket. It’s not a real asthma attack. It’s a physical response to stress.

‘I forgave you,’ she says. ‘I stood by you. Through everything. I could have left you after I found out about Jenna but I didn’t. I could have testified against you in court but I didn’t. I could have found another man to take care of me, but I didn’t. I’ve never stopped loving you Tom, not for one second.’

He’s weakening. She can see it in the sag of his face and the slump of his shoulders. He needs her, whether he admits it or not.

‘I need you,’ she says softly. ‘You’re a part of—’

‘What did you say to Jenna in the sweat lodge?’

She jolts at the change of subject. ‘Sorry?’

‘You said something to Jenna that made her get up and leave.’

‘No.’ She shakes her head lightly. ‘I didn’t. She needed water. I told her that if she was struggling she should go.’

‘Are you sure about that?’

‘Of course.’

‘You didn’t say anything to her about what you’d watched the night before?’

Kate stiffens but she continues to meet his eye. ‘No. I didn’t.’