Lily couldn’t believe Eleanor was making such a mountain out of a molehill. ‘I haven’t hugged him any more than I’ve hugged Max or Tubb.’

Garrick implored, ‘Honestly, Eleanor—’

‘Honestly?’ repeated Eleanor bitterly. ‘I can see the whole horrible cycle happening all over again. You promised that it would never happen again. You promised,’ she repeated piteously.

Slowly, Lily got to her feet, finally getting why Eleanor had always seemed so wintry and distant with her. She’d picked up on feelings Lily had for Garrick … but oh, were they the wrong ones! Everything that had happened in the past few months crowded in on her. Her parents’ relationship sailing into troubled waters, the friction with Zinnia, the ‘thing’ with Isaac that might be so brief she could have blinked and missed it. And now she’d somehow brought this sordid little scene down on Garrick. ‘Of course there’s nothing between us,’ she blurted out. ‘At least not what you think.’

Eleanor stopped. ‘Not what I think? That implies there’s something.’

Garrick looked astonished. ‘But there’s not,’ he objected, furrowing a confused brow at Lily.

A silence grew. Lily tried to think what to do, what to say. She felt cornered by her own words, by the situation, by her unhappiness, by holding on to secrets about things that affected her so fundamentally but weren’t her fault. She out let her breath and turned to Garrick. ‘I’ve wondered whether to tell you. I haven’t known what to do. But … well … if I had, this wouldn’t be happening.’

Eleanor and Garrick looked at each other then back at Lily. ‘What?’ Their faces bore matching expressions of frustrated unhappiness.

Lily gazed at Garrick, beginning to tremble. She felt as if she were being sucked towards a vortex and there was only one way out. ‘I’m sorry it’s such a shock. But apparently my mum and, and …’ She floundered, not knowing whether to say ‘your dad’ or ‘our dad’. ‘… Marvin Tubb had an affair. And I’m the result. I’m your half-sister.’

Garrick gaped. His eyes were a similar blue to hers but held only outrage.

Then Lily heard a strangled sound. Turning, over Eleanor’s shoulder she saw Tubb. His face was ashen, his mouth agape.

‘Sorry,’ she blurted, feeling as if the vortex was spinning closer, closer. Of all the ways she’d envisaged breaking the news to her brothers, this wasn’t it: so clumsy, so out of control. She began to babble in horror. ‘Sorry, Tubb. Sorry! I know you didn’t want to know if Marvin had fathered more children but I haven’t known what to do. Whether to tell you. I wanted to … but also, I didn’t.’

Her voice dried. Tubb’s eyes were suddenly blazing with fury. ‘Why did you decide to bring it out now? Garrick didn’t know about Dad having an affair!’