‘Ellie, I’m so glad you’re here. I wanted to tell you something.’ The words tumbled out of her as fast as a downpour, but she had to get them out before she could think about it too much. ‘I’m going to apply to art college, to do a foundation. And I’m going to look into my family’s history. I want Liliana’s legacy to be remembered. I want to be part of it.’

Ellie’s mouth parted, and she blinked away the shock of both Lottie’s abrupt entrance and the sudden onslaught of information. She looked tired, as usual, purple and blue under the eyes. And there was something else now. Her hair had grown a little too long, the sharp edges of her cheekbones sank a little too deep, and her skin was a little too pale. ‘When did –’

‘I know this is out of the blue,’ Lottie explained, and she felt the telltale heat on her cheeks that let her know they were turning pink, ‘but I’ve been thinking about everything you said, and about us, and I want you to know you don’t have to be afraid.’ Ellie’s eyes willed Lottie to go on. ‘Us knowing each other is a good thing, Ellie. It’s made us both better people, and I need to trust that I can take everything I’ve learned from being your friend out into the rest of the world.’

As if they’d become a mirror image of one another, they both sagged, as if a weight had been lifted. The last time Lottie had tried to speak to Ellie she’d been so afraid that she’d said all the wrong things. Now Lottie knew exactly how she felt and exactly what to say.

Ellie slowly stood up. ‘Lottie, I … What’s brought this on so suddenly?’

Lottie couldn’t help smiling when she spoke, so relieved to be talking to Ellie again, having her listen, and she could see in the way Ellie leaned forward, just slightly, that the bridge was mending. ‘All this time I’ve been trying to hide away from the fact that one day I won’t be your Portman by focusing on Leviathan and Claude and anything that made me feel connected to my job. I felt that if I could stay in this role, then you and I would always be linked.’ The more she spoke, the more Ellie’s eyebrows crawled up her face, the twitch of a smile playing in the corner of her mouth. ‘But I was wrong,’ Lottie admitted, feeling the power in her confession. ‘No matter where we go or what we do, no matter whether I’m your Portman or not, we’ll always have each other. We’re better as a team.’