‘The loo’s at the other end of the corridor.’ Kate moves to the doorway, forcing Renata to step out of the room. She steps out too and pulls the door closed. It locks automatically. ‘I showed you where everything was earlier, remember?’

‘Of course.’ Renata runs a hand through her long blonde hair. The girl’s loaded, or at least her parents are. She hasn’t worked a day in her life as far as Kate can make out. She spends her life helping build orphanages in Cambodia and orangutan sanctuaries in Borneo, punctuating her ‘charity work’ with retreats, trying out every self-help technique there is. She’s as vacant as she is beautiful.

‘I thought I heard a noise,’ Renata continues, ‘when I left the loo but as you’re okay I’ll go back to the group and let you get on. I don’t want to spoil Geraldine’s surprise do I?’

‘No,’ Kate says, her cheeks aching from all the bloody smiling. ‘No, let’s definitely keep that to ourselves.’

Renata touches her on the shoulder. ‘You can trust me, Kate. I hope you know that.’

Chapter 15

Now

FRAN

As Fran approaches the dining table she sees Phoenix making a beeline for her and tries to swerve out of his way but Joy and Renata are deep in conversation and despite Fran’s frantic, ‘Excuse me, excuse me please,’ they remain stubbornly in the way. And then there he is, gesturing at two empty seats at the table, asking her to sit next to him. It’s not that she dislikes Phoenix, but she finds his incessant chattering exhausting. They were paired up for the listening challenge earlier and he talked at her at double speed for a full five minutes. He described in minute detail the circumstances of how he came to meet his ex-boyfriend Gwyn (at a gay club in Swansea), how their relationship had progressed (quickly, by all accounts), the problems and obstacles en route (jealousy, insecurity, Gwyn’s annoying best friend), Gwyn’s dwindling sexual interest and subsequent cheating and Phoenix’s refusal to accept the relationship was over and his eventual caution from the police. ‘It wasn’t stalking. I was just trying to stop him from ghosting me. I mean, we were together for eleven months and he owed it to me to tell me what I had done wrong. Don’t you think, Geri? Just nod. Anyway, he totally destroyed my confidence and that’s why I’m here …’