‘Because I found naked pictures of the girls on it.’

Below us, rocks bowled and seethed as the sea recoiled.

He nodded slowly, sighed.

‘The girls already told you?’ I said.

‘Yes.’ Another sigh. ‘But you do know that was Luke, don’t you?’

‘If the girls are to be believed,’ I said blandly.

‘Come on, I told you what they’re like at the Billet House. Luke’s the worst, always taking bits of my clothing – like this coat. He helps himself to my deodorant and aftershave. When you bring home any food, you have to…’

‘Did the girls help you come up with a story about the goat horns too?’

I folded my arms against the cold.

‘Excuse me?’ he said, all equanimity wiped away in an instant, replaced by an expression I’d never seen on his face before, something hard-edged, volatile. ‘What is this? Why have you dragged me up here? So you can give me some kind of dressing-down in the freezing fucking cold? I’m not one of your pupils, you know. You’re not at the front of class anymore, Miss Cedars.’ He spat out the sibilance of my name, disgusted with it.

This was what I had been digging for all this time, been sure I would unearth – the real Ben, the surly, poisonous individual hiding beneath that charming, affable façade. Did I think I would feel victorious when I found it? I was only frightened, too scared to shout back at him: It was you who dragged me up here! I took a step back, another accusation in itself.

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake! You’re afraid of me now? Who do you think I am?’ He threw his hands to the sky. He began to pace. ‘This island!’ he said, raking his fingers through his hair. ‘This fucking island, it’s so…’

I edged backwards again. I wanted to go, but he wasn’t done. He flew at me and I cried out, cowering as he put his face intimidatingly close. His words were brittle. ‘Luke Signal left the horns on my bed one night as a joke, okay? Left a great bloody stain on my pillow, thank you very much. I don’t know what happened to them after that – am I supposed to? Were the girls wearing them in these naked pictures I’ve never seen? I don’t know. I don’t fucking know!’ He was yelling now, had hold of me by the shoulders. ‘You know that phone was lost for weeks and weeks. You know that! You know! Because you found it. You did! I won’t apologise for something I haven’t done, Leah, I won’t do that, because I am not the problem here. I am not the problem!’

There was a sudden strike, a loud crack in the air, and Ben was gone.