Events were conspiring to keep her and Isaac apart. The precious slice of time they’d awarded themselves to be together before he went on to a new life was being used up.

He’d tried to ring her back several times but she hadn’t answered. She’d been crying too hard, hurting too much.

It was a less buoyant minibus load of Middletones that set off home a couple of hours later, Carola having been online to change their bookings at the hotel and on le Shuttle. Neil and Franciszka took the front seat so Neil could work the gear stick for Lily if her hand hurt too much.

‘Are you absolutely sure you’re OK to drive like this?’ he demanded, his kind eyes concerned behind the lenses of his glasses.

Lily gave him a beaming and totally contrived smile. ‘I wouldn’t do it, otherwise.’ She was in no doubt that the traffic police would be completely unimpressed with the system but how would they ever know? She was desperate to get away. Nobody seemed to mind leaving early and, as if to back up their decision, the snow came two hours before forecast, tumbling into the windscreen as Lily drove.

They stopped less often than on the outward leg as Lily wanted to make the hotel by evening despite their late start. Her hand began thumping almost as soon as she began driving but she gritted her teeth, took paracetamol and ibuprofen – codeine not being an option if she wanted to stay awake – and accepted Neil’s help with the gear lever when she needed it. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was on a motorway and had only to steer.

Isaac phoned. As Lily hadn’t thought to pair her phone with the Bluetooth system Neil answered for her, beginning with, ‘Lily’s driving,’ and gathering the information in return that things had not changed at Isaac’s end.

When they stopped for lunch, just over the Swiss-French border, the snow had stopped falling and there was little on the ground. Neil put the minibus into reverse gear for Lily, and Franciszka hopped out of the minibus to guide her as she parked.

As they crossed the car park towards the service station Carola asked, ‘Has anyone had news about Ona and the baby?’

Lily had been wondering about them but she hadn’t contacted Tubb, Garrick or any members of their family since the horrible scene yesterday, not knowing if they’d want to hear from her. The same went for Janice’s family. She tucked her throbbing hand into the pocket of her parka as she saw a neat way out. ‘I’ve texted official thanks to Los from the Middletones to BCF but maybe you could thank Max for everything he’s done, ask about Ona and the baby and explain that we decided to leave early.’

‘Good idea.’ Carola took out her phone.