‘I don’t know what to say. Is this a permanent dye?’ She brought a hand up to touch the hair, which felt coarse and dry.

‘Don’t worry, it will grow out.’

‘Oh, Beth.’

Disappointment leaked into her tone and instantly, the hope in Beth’s face closed down. She looked sideways at Corinne – a quicksilver glance but Abi caught it, taking in how their eyes locked, the slight nod of reassurance that Corinne gave, the way it steadied Beth.

‘Is that a nose-piercing?’ Eva asked, her own nose wrinkling with distaste.

Abi hadn’t noticed it, but now she saw Beth’s hand instinctively going to her face, the pad of her index finger pressing to what Abi had thought was a spot, but as she peered closely, she saw that it was in fact a tiny stone embedded in the flesh around Beth’s nostril. A crusty layer had formed around the circumference and the skin looked scratchy and raw.

Corinne’s laughter rose, too loud for the room. Abi felt it scraping inside her skull, heightening her sense of alarm. She looked around for Mark, but he had already turned away from her, unperturbed, stepping out into the sunlight to fetch their luggage from the car.

15

It was hard pretending everything was normal. Especially now after the arrival of her family.

Beth stared up into the eaves and said:

‘Do you think they noticed?’

‘Noticed what?’ Corinne asked.

‘About your parents?’

All the heat from the day seemed to have gathered into the dark attic space. They lay in their underwear with the coverlets kicked off, Corinne fanning herself with a book while she considered her answer. Beth could hear the dull flap of pages from across the room.

‘What would they notice? They act normal, don’t they?’

‘I guess.’

Whenever Corinne’s parents spoke to each other in rapid French, Beth found it hard not to stare, after what Corinne had told her. She watched them from the corner of her eye as they prepared the dinner alongside each other in the little kitchen; Valentina – small and animated, tossing ingredients together with a flourish; Guy, a large, humourless man, seemed hulking beside her. Beth was intimidated by Guy – his long silences, the directness of his watery gaze. She could find no trace of filial resemblance between the two adults. Still, it was impossible to observe even the smallest interaction between Guy and Val without a small tremor of revulsion. Sometimes, she would stare at them wide-eyed and then Corinne would kick her sharply under the table and flash a warning glance.