Kat has no idea what the girls shoved into their backpacks when she instructed them to get their stuff, but she doesn’t think now’s a good time to admit that. ‘They have everything they need, and they liked it, I think. I made them pancakes for breakfast,’ she adds. ‘I cleared everything up.’

Beth leans back against the wall. She looks tired. Harassed and scared. Kat knows she should feel sad, but she can’t help pleasure creeping in. Because Beth’s vulnerability is a chance for her. ‘Thank you, I guess,’ Beth whispers eventually. ‘I did have a bad night.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Kat lies.

‘And thank you for getting the girls to school on time.’

Kat’s heart booms silently. ‘It’s my pleasure.’

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Beth

Beth stares at the ever-changing view rushing past the window. The historic charm of Richmond-upon-Thames, followed by its grimier neighbours, Feltham and Staines. Then into the countryside, the genteel conurbations of Virginia Water and Sunningdale, and past the world-famous Ascot racecourse with its royal connections.

But she doesn’t see any of it. Her head is too full.

She interlaces her fingers and squeezes them together. But they feel naked without the ridges of her engagement, wedding and eternity rings – the revealing jewellery that is currently stacked neatly on her bedside table – so she pushes them back into her jacket pocket. She’s determined not to touch the seat.

Part of her is glad to be out of London. She’s exhausted with the constant fear of wondering where Mark will show up next. Not knowing whether the shadows in doorways or behind parked cars are him watching, or her imagination taunting her. And with Simon still in Dublin, that fear permeates into her home too, making normal tasks impossible. On Wednesday night she dealt with it by drinking too much wine, then taking a tablet to help her sleep, which of course led to her oversleeping. She’d thought she never wanted to see Kat again after her breakdown on Tuesday, but thank God the dog walker showed up on Thursday morning. Beth has worked too hard at being the perfect mother for one mistake to have her branded as substandard, but that’s exactly what Nightingales’ pious receptionist Mrs Gilbert would have thought if Martha and Ava had been dropped off after the register.

But she is also dreading what comes next. A return to her childhood home, the house she lived in until she was 16. Her dad fighting cancer.