Ben pulled up on the gravel driveway and turned off the engine. As he did so, Elodie’s eyes popped wide open and she made herself jump with a giant hiccup. Ben and I both laughed and it broke the tension that had enveloped us for the whole journey. Ben hopped out and unstrapped her, lifting her out in one deft movement. I watched him tickling her for a moment before climbing out myself. He really did love her. How devastated he would be to know the truth, that he was her brother, not her father.

I put my arms out and took her from him, noting with satisfaction how she squealed with genuine delight when I lifted her up and blew raspberries on her belly. Ben couldn’t even make her laugh the way I could.

Jo opened the front door before we reached it and I was slightly taken aback by how diminished she looked. She wasn’t a big woman anyway, but she seemed to have shrunk into herself since I last saw her. Her eyes looked slightly glazed and there were dark shadows beneath them. She reached up to hug Ben and clung to him for a few seconds, as if she was hanging onto a lifebelt. As she released him, she gave me a cursory glance and attempted a half-smile. ‘Hello, Bella,’ she said, in what I thought was a very cold way.

I felt a creeping sense of unease. Usually, she would be excessively friendly, rather than offhand and distant. I wondered if she knew anything. Maybe Peter had confessed all on his deathbed, however unlikely that seemed. ‘Hello, Jo.’ I swallowed hard so that I could continue. ‘I’m sorry about Peter,’ I managed, distracting myself by gently rocking Elodie.

‘Thank you,’ Jo said, before turning away abruptly, without even so much as a glance at Elodie. I couldn’t believe that she could be so disinterested and looked at Ben in disgust, but he was already following his mum into the kitchen like an obedient puppy. So this was how today was going to be then, I thought murderously. Everyone fussing around Jo and pretty much ignoring Elodie and me.

I took a seat at the island with Elodie on my lap and watched as Emma bustled about, issuing orders and bossing everyone around, whilst preparing tea and coffee. She put a coffee in front of me without asking what I wanted or even acknowledging that I was there. I deliberately left it to go cold. Annoyingly, Elodie was as good as gold and sat quietly watching the goings-on without making even a whimper, which would have given me an excuse to leave.

Finally, we heard the cars arriving on the gravel driveway and my heart lurched. It was only now that it felt real for the first time. We all stood up and Jo reached for Ben’s arm.

‘Are you OK, Mum?’ he asked with a look of genuine concern, as we all began to walk down the hallway.