The jubilant look disappears as Ava shrugs, then lets her bottom lip droop. ‘She’s asleep,’ she whispers. ‘She won’t wake up.’

Kat’s mind races. Beth had clearly taken something on Tuesday evening. Did she do the same again last night? Kat knows how pills can transform you from a caged tiger into a stoned sloth.

Or is it much worse than that? Has Mark found a way into her home?

‘Did you try to wake her, Ava?’ The words tumble out on top of each other. She tries to smile, to reassure the little girl, but it pulls her face out of shape.

‘I did,’ Martha says. ‘I shook her arm. She opened her eyes for a bit, but then she rolled over and went back to sleep.’

Kat takes a deep breath and slowly exhales, enjoying the feel of her heart rate settling. Beth is alive. She imagines her lying in a king-sized bed, wrapped in a goose-down duvet, her dark hair splayed out across the pillow. Then a new thought enters her mind: opportunity. ‘It sounds like Mummy is really tired,’ she says. ‘Maybe we should let her sleep a bit longer.’

Both girls nod, but Martha’s face creases into a frown. ‘But that means we’ll be late for school,’ she moans.

‘And miss the register.’

Kat looks at their trusting expressions. It doesn’t matter to them that Kat’s almost a stranger; she’s the adult in the room, so it’s her job to solve this problem. ‘I could walk you to school if you’d like.’

‘But what about our breakfast?’

Kat laughs. She always approves of people who put their stomach first.

‘We could have some of Granny’s mince pies,’ Martha suggests. ‘They came in a big red box yesterday, with a ribbon and everything.’

‘I’m not sure mince pies …’ Kat starts, but doesn’t get chance to give her (highly hypocritical) healthy eating advice before being interrupted.

‘No. They’re yucky,’ Ava announces, crossing her arms.

‘Liar, you love mince pies,’ Martha counters.

Ava shakes her head primly. ‘Only the ones that come in a cardboard box from that old man.’

Kat can’t help smiling. Mr Kipling has always been her favourite too.

‘But Granny uses Prue Leith’s recipe! And she’s from Bake Off,’ Martha says in a voice that suggests her argument has clinched it.

‘I don’t care; they taste weird.’

‘No they don’t!’

As the girls’ voices rise, Kat looks towards the kitchen in panic. She needs to stop the argument escalating. ‘How about I make some pancakes?’ she suggests.