There was little traffic as she drove home but the pavements and gardens around the Bogward Estate were busy with children whizzing to and fro on bikes, chalking on the pavement, kicking balls and flipping skateboards. Making the most of the weather, Clare thought, slowing her speed as she passed them. At the roundabout she turned left as usual, taking the country road towards Daisy Cottage. Up ahead a tractor with a hedge flail attached was making slow progress as it cut back the foliage where it encroached on the road. Clare pulled out, giving it a wide berth, and continued on her way.

Minutes later she crunched into the drive in front of Daisy Cottage and came to an abrupt halt. It took her a moment to recognise the car parked in front of the door. And then she realised. It was a blue VW Golf. Her sister’s car. And it looked as if Jude was sitting in the driver’s seat. As she drew in alongside the Golf and killed the engine Clare saw her sister turn to look at her. She smiled and Jude smiled back. But there was no mistaking her sister’s tearstained cheeks.

Chapter 21

‘Here,’ Clare said, holding out a glass to her sister. ‘Drink this.’

Jude waved it away.

‘It’ll settle your nerves,’ Clare persisted.

‘No!’ Jude was pink in the face now. ‘I don’t want a bloody glass of wine, Clare.’ Then she started to cry again.

‘Tea, then,’ Clare said, and she flicked the switch on the kettle. She put an arm round her sister and led her to the sofa. ‘We’ll have a mug of tea together then we can chat.’

Jude nodded and allowed herself to be installed on the sofa. Minutes later, Clare brought through a tray with mugs of tea and a packet of ginger biscuits. She held a mug out to Jude and saw that her hands were shaking.

‘Jude, what on earth’s wrong? Please tell me.’ She suddenly thought of her nephew – Jude and Frank’s small son, James. His autism had put a terrific strain on them both but lately Clare had thought Jude was coping better. That she’d come to terms with James’s diagnosis and what the future might hold for him. But was there something more? ‘It’s not James, is it?’ she said, a note of urgency in her voice.

Jude shook her head. ‘No, nothing like that. James is fine.’

‘Frank?’

‘No. They’re both fine.’

‘Then you? You’re not ill?’

‘Not ill, no,’ she said then the tears began coursing down her cheeks again. ‘I’m fine,’ she said. ‘It’s just…’

Clare waited, desperate to know what had upset her sister so much.

‘I think I’m pregnant again,’ Jude blurted out. ‘And I don’t know what to do.’