‘Don’t you dare look at me as if I’ve wronged you. It’s your damned arrogance, your damned pride that’s resurfaced again that’s making me want you nowhere near me. There was enough to endure as it was on the day of the baptism with Luke’s conduct and our worries about him. There was no reason for you to mock Clem or his family. You gave no thought to Jessica’s feelings or Catherine’s and they’ve never, ever, done anything to you. When I pointed out Jessica’s upset, you couldn’t even take it upon yourself to apologize to her. Clem didn’t do a single thing to show you disrespect or to try to humiliate you as you did him. And you gave no thought to my discomfort when you hauled me off with Rachael for that sarcastic introduction.

‘Right from the beginning, when you forced me to marry you over that cruel bargain you made with my grandfather, there was no need for you to cause further distress to Clem. But over the years you’ve never stopped abusing him or making slurs on his character, even when he moved on with his own life and away from Pengarron land.

‘You think you’re a great man, Oliver Pengarron. Lord of all you survey, with a God-given right to proceed exactly how you like. But you’re spiteful, nasty, vindictive and malicious. That makes you very small in my eyes.’

Kerensa had forgotten to breathe throughout her tirade and she nearly fainted for lack of breath. Oliver put out his hands to catch her. She pushed them away, using the door for support.

There was another silence, only the sound of her harsh breathing echoed in the room. The silence grew grim, heavy and charged with acrimony. He was looking at her as if he had never seen her before.

He moved back.