‘Yes, he is,’ Sara said, a note of weariness in her voice.

The girls started packing up their books. ‘We’ll go upstairs,’ Amelia said. ‘Let you two have a gossip.’

Hailey pretended to be appalled. ‘Gossip? We don’t gossip.’

The girls gave her a knowing look, and Sara saw Amelia whisper something in Hailey’s ear as she walked past. ‘Thanks, Auntie Hailey,’ Sophia said. ‘And for the chat—’

Amelia cut her off with a sharp dig in the ribs before pulling her into the hall. Sara listened to them thundering up the stairs, heard the bedroom door bang.

She turned to Hailey, puzzled. ‘What chat would that be?’

Hailey gave a quick shake of the head, picked up her mug of tea and went over to sit at the table. She’s stalling, Sara thought, aware that her sister was avoiding eye contact.

‘Oh, it was just about some kids at school playing up in class. You know, coping with a bit of bad behaviour, that sort of thing.’

Sara wasn’t sure she believed her and made a mental note to talk to Sophia later, see if she could get to the truth. If there was anything bothering her girls, she’d sort it out herself. Her jaw clenched. She didn’t need Hailey butting in and taking over, however experienced she was with difficult kids.

Calm down, she told herself, taking a deep breath. You’re overreacting. A bit wound-up. She blew on her tea and took a sip before going over to join her sister. It was good the girls felt comfortable talking to Hailey about things that mattered, she decided as she pulled out a chair. It doesn’t mean they think any less of me, does it? She was here, I wasn’t.

Hailey had always been part of the family’s lives and Sara counted herself lucky to have her support – an older sister to guide her through the tribulations of parenting. She was glad that Hailey’s relationship with her nieces was so close because if anything happened to Sara, she knew her children would be in good hands. Not that Matt wasn’t a good father; it was just he didn’t see what needed to be done around the house, didn’t understand how much organising she did to make things run smoothly, and if she wasn’t there, Sara knew the household would descend into chaos in the space of a few days.

I’m not planning on going anywhere, she thought, nerves swirling in her belly as the events of the day flooded back into her mind. The discovery and cover-up of her crime. The transfer of debt from money to the currency of favours.

James had been true to his word and done the bank transfer straight away, showing her the internet bank account so she could be sure the money was back where it should be.