Cara moves forward slowly, her heart speeding, her thoughts a jumble of tension, fear and determination. She does not want to climb that ladder. The wood seems solid but she doesn’t trust in it. And yet neither can she bring herself to quit, to give up on Sam and let him down. He is so keen, so enthusiastic, and this is so obviously a gift he is offering her. How can she refuse him; how can she cope with admitting her fear to him? She is trapped, and so she touches the ladder gingerly, places a foot on the first rung. Clinging to the wood, she begins to climb.

It is a long way up. She stops twice, willing herself to go on, to put one hand above the next. Sam is calling, ‘Come on, Cara, you’ll miss it!’ and for a moment she feels like the little girl she once was; that it is Max above her, transformed back into an eager youth, urging her to conquer her fears, and she climbs on, not daring to look down, until her head reaches the hatchway.

Above her, Sam stretches for her hand, grasps it, and half pulls her up, into the light and the wind. Cara steps up off the ladder, Sam’s arm around her, steadying her. She looks out, across the gently sloping roof to the east, to the tiny towns, and to the distant sea, a sliver of blue, flashing and glinting in the setting sun. The wind whips at her clothes as she gasps in astonishment at the panorama all around her. And then Sam lets go and she is left unsteady, balanced precariously beside the hatch, as he saunters across the roof into the wind, towards the west and the setting sun. As she watches him he turns to face her, whooping in delight, revelling in the wind and the light. Laughing, he turns again and moves closer to the crenellations that surround the roof, facing into the brilliance of the sunset.

‘Sam!’ she shouts. ‘Don’t. Please don’t, it’s not safe.’

But he can’t hear her because of the wind, which catches her voice and tosses it away. Around the base of the crenellations is a low terrace, a walkway from which a watcher might see whomever is approaching the house. Sam jumps on to it with practised ease. Now Cara is terrified for him.

‘Sam!’ she calls out urgently.

He turns to face her, his face bright with pleasure. Turning back to face the sun, he flings his arms up and wide and shouts at the top of his voice, ‘Welcome to my kingdom, Cara!’