Anna stared at him, realisation dawning. ‘Is that why you resent me so much? Because you think my life has been too easy?’

‘Hasn’t it? You’ve never had to worry about where your next meal was coming from, have you? Your future was all settled for you, from the moment you came into this world. You and your perfect family.’ Edward’s eyes were like chips of ice. ‘I used to watch your father fussing over you, praising you for whatever you did. His liebling – “Such a talent! Just look at her sugarcraft, Edward, have you ever seen such a delicate touch?”’ He cruelly mimicked her father’s German accent. ‘And there was me, working twelve-hour days for him with scarcely a word of thanks for it.’

‘Papa loved you,’ Anna said. ‘He thought of you as a son.’

‘He thought of me as a skivvy!’ Edward shot back. ‘At least until the day he realised his precious daughter had fallen for me. Then, suddenly, everything was different. Suddenly he was welcoming me into the family with open arms, telling me how I’d run the place one day.’

‘Which was what you wanted all along.’

‘It was what I deserved.’ His mouth curved in a cruel, cold smile. ‘Don’t look so shocked, Anna,’ he mocked her. ‘You have to learn to take in this world. That’s what growing up in the workhouse taught me.’

‘But Papa welcomed you into our family,’ Anna said. ‘And you repaid his kindness by taking everything away from us.’

‘Kindness is a weakness,’ Edward said.

Anna shook her head pityingly. Looking at him now, she wondered how she had not seen what he was really like. ‘You’ve got a black soul, Edward Stanning. I feel sorry for you.’

His eyes flared with rage. ‘Don’t you dare feel sorry for me!’ Edward hissed. ‘I’ve got everything I ever wanted.’

‘Have you? Is this really all you’ve ever wanted?’ Anna curled her lips. ‘Then I really do pity you.’

He glared back at her, his fists clenching, and for a moment she thought he was going to hit her. But to her surprise she did not care. Nothing he could do to her now was as bad as the torture he had put her through already.

‘I want a divorce,’ she said flatly.

His eyes flickered with surprise. Then he shrugged.

‘Suit yourself. You can go whenever you like.’

‘But this is my home.’

‘It’s mine now.’

She was disappointed but not surprised. She had hoped that there might have been some shred of decency left in him – but no. He was too consumed with greed.

The war hadn’t changed him, she thought. She had tried to use it as an excuse, but the reality was he had always been like this. She had never allowed herself to see behind the mask he wore.

Her suitcase was already packed. Edward watched her out of the corner of his eye as she retrieved it from under the bed.