There were other people on board the boat, three men and a woman and Thea tried to see individual faces, but they blurred together into a mix of shy smiles, waterproof clothing and worried frowns.

‘But what about when we get to shore?’ Thea’s jaw started to tremble, making it difficult to get the words out.

‘The lifeboat men called the local police. They’re waiting on the mainland.’

‘Official now, see?’ Alastair added.

Thea realized that both her mother and Alastair were waiting for the whole story, but the trembling that had begun in her jaw was now spreading, outwards through her arms and chest but also inwards, making her mind buzz and judder like a badly connected television. The whole story. It was there, inside her, but there was too much of it and too little of her.

Burning tree, ghost balloons, lab rat in a maze.

‘It can wait.’ Vivian tucked the blanket tighter around Thea’s shoulders. ‘Don’t worry, it can all wait.’

Thea’s fingers were so stiff that, at first, she couldn’t do it, but on the third attempt she managed to unzip her coat pocket, taking out the memory stick and pressing it into Vivian’s hand.

‘That … that explains a lot … of it,’ she managed.

Vivian held it between thumb and finger and studied it before giving a nod and popping it under her bra strap. ‘Safest place, teapot.’

Thea cringed at the hated nickname and cringed even more when she heard her mother say, ‘And who’s this handsome young chap?’ as Rory shifted beside her and gave a deep, throaty chuckle. But then the world went fuzzy and Thea watched colours swim lazily across her vision, the voices around her blurring into nothing but a soothing lullaby.

She felt an arm around her back and was grateful for the way it fitted perfectly behind her neck. Dragging at least some of the focus back into the world, she moved her head – which was now the size and weight of a small planet – and traced the arm back to Rory.

Rory.

The beard at her preliminary testing, chocolate smuggler extraordinaire, ally … friend.

He smiled down on her. There was something different about him too, she realized, taking a while to work it out. Lines. The lines on his face – those of worry, fear, tension – were gone, smoothed away. It made him look younger.

She gave him some of her blanket.