Lily swallowed her shock. It had never occurred to her that Tubb would keep that knowledge to himself.

‘I’d decided not to tell him,’ Tubb went on bitterly, brushing past Eleanor to come further into the room. ‘I didn’t want to besmirch our father’s memory for him, as it had been for me. Garrick’s the youngest. He worshipped Dad.’

Garrick was frozen.

Lily watched, mortified as Eleanor, her jealousy apparently forgotten, crossed the room and took his hand.

‘He’s not the youngest,’ Lily whispered. ‘I am.’

Tubb stared at Lily as if she’d said something to deliberately hurt him.

The next minutes were like a nightmare. Lily was rooted to the spot with overwhelming shame she didn’t think she should have been made to feel. She had to gulp back tears as Garrick and Eleanor got their coats and left. ‘I have to process this,’ Garrick mumbled, not looking at anybody. Tubb clapped him on the shoulder as he passed.

Then turned and glared at Lily with such scorching contempt she physically stepped back.

She suddenly had every sympathy for the little girl at the advent brunch because, shit, she’d really got it wrong. ‘I’m sorry,’ she tried to say again. Then, because that sounded as if she were apologising for existing, licked her lips and began again. ‘I’m sorry I told him but Eleanor thought he and I were having a thing and I had to make her understand—’

Then Janice burst into the room, eyes wide and panicked. ‘Harrison, Ona’s having a big bleed. One of us will have to take her to hospital and the other stay with the boys.’

‘I could stay with the boys,’ Lily began.

Tubb shook his head saying shortly, ‘Better for them to be with their grandmother. I’ll drive Ona.’ Then he turned and hurried out with Janice.

Lily stood rooted to the spot, listening to their voices, suppressed urgency, phone calls being made, the decision being taken to get Ona to emergency care at the hospital in Cham. Lily didn’t know Cham but heard Tubb reassuring Janice that it was less than twenty minutes in the car and it was better not to wait for the ambulance.

Except for Doggo coming into the kitchen to look for her, she knew herself to be forgotten or disregarded. She hooked her fingers into Doggo’s harness to keep him with her, out of the way of a family drama more important than her grief and hurt. She listened to Ona calling falsely bright goodbyes to her sons as Tubb gave her his arm to help her out to his car, to the front door closing behind and Janice trying to sound breezy as she told Dugal and Keir they’d go up and play in the bath. Later, she’d make them burgers for dinner.