Jenna takes the bottle from the cupboard and roots around in a drawer for a bottle opener. When she finally pours the wine, Kate’s moved from the armchair to the bed. She’s perched on the edge, staring out through the patio doors; watching for Tom.

Jenna hands her a glass and sits on the bed beside her. ‘Has he done that before?’

‘Done what?’

‘Hit you?’

‘No.’

‘Never?’

‘Never.’ There’s an edge to Kate’s voice, a full stop. End of discussion.

‘What are you going to do?’

‘Nothing.’

She looks at her in surprise. ‘If you want to report it to the police I’ll come with you.’

Kate takes a slug of her wine. ‘That’s not going to happen.’

‘He hit you!’

‘He tapped me.’

‘It didn’t sound like a tap.’

‘Just let it go, Jenna.’

Jenna looks at her incredulously. She can’t tell if Kate’s in denial about what happened or if she genuinely thinks it’s acceptable but she’s a lot more together than Jenna would be in the same situation.

Kate twirls her wine glass between her fingers. ‘I’m waiting for him to come back so we can talk.’

‘And then what? Are you going to resign and go back to the UK?’

‘No, of course not.’

‘Cancel the retreat?’

Kate looks at her in horror. ‘Why would I do that?’

‘Because Tom’s going to be alone with other women in this room. What if he hits them too?’

‘That’s not going to happen. Seriously, Jenna. Tom and I … we push each other’s buttons, especially when we’re under pressure. Running the retreat is stressful. We argued. It happens.’

Jenna tries to read the emotion in Kate’s eyes. There’s a defensiveness there, anger too. And something else. Something she can’t read.

‘I was angry with Tom,’ Kate continues. ‘I took it too far.’

Jenna tries to say that it’s okay, that she understands, but the words stick in her throat. Kate’s making excuses for him. ‘It doesn’t matter how angry you got. He shouldn’t have hit you.’

‘Like I said, it was a tap. But it shouldn’t have happened and Tom will be tearing himself apart. If what you overheard got out he wouldn’t be able to live with the shame. He’s an emotional man, Jenna, and neither of us want to push him to a point where he heads out to the cliffs and …’ She pauses and takes a steadying breath. ‘… and does something foolish. What you heard … it was utterly unprofessional, but I am absolutely as much to blame as Tom. It was a private matter and I would appreciate it if you would keep it to yourself.’