I still haven’t asked her about that night – the chapter of her story that she didn’t get around to writing. David has told me only the headline facts as he remembers them, but I want to hear it from Bonnie, too – I need to hear it from her. Lifting first one foot up, and then the other, I remove my boots and socks and dip my feet into the water beside hers. We both have long second toes, and apparently the same shade of dark red nail varnish.

‘David told me,’ I say, deliberately not meeting her eyes.

She sighs, just once, perhaps drawing in breath to give herself courage.

‘I guessed he would.’

‘He told me it’s mostly all a blur, what happened, but that enough happened.’

‘That’s about the size of it.’

Another pebble disappears with a plop into the river.

‘How did it happen?’ I press, desperate for details yet fearful of finding any out.

‘I always liked him, as you know, and we had grown closer since I moved in. He was missing Anna and I was upset about Seth cheating on me. We got drunk, it just happened. Or, it started to, and then David stopped. He said he couldn’t go through with it, that he was sorry, but he loved his wife.’

‘And afterwards?’ I prompt.

‘We just carried on as normal, never spoke about it. For the first few days, it was a bit weird and embarrassing, but after a while, we went back to being friends again. And then Seth disappeared. I hated the guy, but still loved him, and when I did the test a few months later and realised I was pregnant, I went racing off to find him only to learn that he’d scarpered, and that the police were after him because he’d stolen money and all sorts from Lavender.’

‘Bloody hell,’ I say, though I’m not actually that surprised.

‘I don’t even know if I would have told Seth that I was expecting, if I had managed to track him down,’ she continues. ‘But I doubt he would have been very happy about it. That man’s life began and ended with him – he was the focal point of everything. He would have made a useless father, because he was very selfish.’

‘And David was a better choice?’

‘Not only that.’ Another sigh. ‘While it was less likely that David could be your father, there was a chance – we both knew that. After I had tried and failed to locate Seth, I went back to the house in search of David, only to find Anna instead. She had come back to make things right, and suddenly she’s dealing with me, crying all over her and telling her about the baby.’

‘Did she know?’ I ask. ‘About you and David?’

Bonnie nods, her expression haunted.