I think I know what she was going to say, and I don’t like it because it’s not true. I didn’t tell Will to go through the hole. I said we should never disturb the queen. But he tried to find her, and something happened and he fell in the water. That’s what I know, so I tell Mum and she takes lots of deep breaths and says, “Okay. I need to think.”

She’s still thinking when Dad gets home, and she tells me to stay in my room while they talk.

I hear noises I don’t like, and Dad’s voice comes through the floorboards. Mum’s crying again, and I hate myself because it is my fault. I was supposed to look after him, but I walked away. I wasn’t watching him, and now he’s gone.

I sit on the stairs so I can hear my parents better, and Mum is saying, “But she’s eleven, and I left her alone with a four-year-old. How does that look? They’ll take her away from us. I’m sure of it. And they’ll charge me with…”

My foot makes the step creak, and my parents come to the bottom of the stairs and look up at me.

Dad’s face is scary. He always looks tired when he comes home from work, but, tonight, he seems different. Mum’s face is red and blotchy, and I want to hug her but don’t know if I’m allowed.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, and Dad comes toward me. I’m scared, but he lifts me up and hugs me, and his tears make my shoulder wet, but I don’t complain. Over his shoulder I see Mum and think of what she said about them taking me away.

“I don’t want to go,” I say.

Dad says, “You’re not going anywhere, Amy. We love you, and we’ll keep you safe.”

They said that about Will, too, and he’s not safe anymore. But I believe Dad because I have to.

“What are you going to do?” I ask.

Dad puts me down and looks at my brother’s bedroom door.

“I don’t know yet,” he says. “But it’ll be okay.”

IIII IIII

They take Will away when I’m at school.

I didn’t want to go, but Mum said, “You have to, darling. We must pretend that everything’s fine.”

“Why are we pretending?” I asked.

“I’ve lost one of you. I can’t lose both. You understand that, don’t you? We’ll be in trouble if anyone ever finds out.”

Dad drove me to school, and, at the gate, he said, “Are you all right?”

The answer was no, but I nodded because it was easier than lying out loud.