Maeve and Brenna both fell asleep at the table almost as soon as the bottling process was finished. Jem asked Morven, Cass, and Glenn to clean up the kitchen whilst he helped Lily put the twins to bed. Lily scooped Maeve up into her arms and Jem lifted Brenna, and the two of them wandered down the quiet corridor, trying to walk as slowly and carefully as they could so as not to wake the girls. They reached the room Maeve and Brenna shared and placed them in their respective beds, tucking them up with blankets and pillows so they were warm and comfortable. Lily watched Jem as he kissed them both on their foreheads. It was a carefully constructed routine that Lily didn’t want to disturb, and then they were tiptoeing past the girls’ beds and closing the door behind them.

‘They’re lucky to have you,’ Lily observed. It was a fact, not flattery. Jem smiled and then nudged her shoulder gently as they walked side by side.

‘We’re all lucky to have you, Lil. The way you captivated that room tonight … I’ve never seen anything like it. None of us knew how much we needed you until you arrived. Especially me. I’d forgotten what it felt like to have someone around who understands, who can tell me when I’m being an idiot, someone to have a proper conversation with.’

He paused and stopped walking. They were alone in the corridor, standing just outside the living room. Jem reached out and took Lily’s hand and held it tightly, as if he were scared that she might disappear.

‘Thank you. There is no one I’d rather have with me, with us, whilst we go through all of this.’ He stepped closer. Lily could feel the warmth of his breath gently on her face. ‘And … I hope that, maybe, once this is all over … you’ll consider coming back.’ He pressed her hand to his heart and she felt that, like hers, it was beating like a fluttering hummingbird inside his chest. He leaned closer and—

‘Jem! Jem, can you help me light this fire please! I think the wood is too damp,’ Cass called from inside the living room and Jem took a step back, looked into Lily’s eyes for a millisecond longer, and then charged in to help Cass.

Lily stood there in the empty corridor. She was all of a sudden lightheaded and her hands were shaking. Did that just happen? she thought. Did Jem just ask me to … stay? She leaned against the cold stone wall, trying to catch her breath, a smile tugging at the edges of her lips, her heart aglow.

Chapter Thirty-Four

‘Grace…’

Alice started to re-emerge from the nightmare.

‘I’m here, I’m here.’ Grace continued to rock her gently, still holding Alice tightly against her chest.

‘It was horrible,’ Alice said between sobs. ‘She said all these awful things about my mother and about me and … I just lost it. I don’t know what happened. Everything hurts; every inch of me is burning. And the noise! I can hear so much, I can hear mice in the walls, I can hear them talking outside, I can smell the kitchens from here. Everything is so loud and bright and strong. I can’t … I can’t cope!’