‘You’ve got a good Shakespearian imagination.’

‘No, it’s true, believe me.’ Her eyes widened. ‘First she got Harry to appoint her shift leader over those who had been there years. That was only the start. She got promoted again and again despite being lazy and useless, then slyly squeezed herself into management, with a made-up job title.’

‘Operations manager? They do exist.’

‘No. The place runs itself, believe me. I did years in production as a youngster. I’ve seen it there from the inside, and even now, it’s like a ghost ship. Harry sits at his desk playing video games when he thinks no one is watching, while she pokes into the drawers and filing cabinets, looking for ways to get control. And now she’s angling for a position on the board. Of our family firm!’ She looked at him in outrage. ‘And she’s not even family, and never will be. At least Deepak was married to me when he was made a director.’

Gillard eyed this obsessed and consumed woman.

Prisha examined her nails, and let the next comment drop casually. ‘You know she failed her degree, don’t you?’

Gillard said nothing, so she continued. ‘Her CV says she got a 2:1, but I checked the records at Essex University. She dropped out. Too idle to complete the course.’

‘Did you tell all this to your mother?’

‘I may have mentioned it.’ Prisha stared out of the window. ‘But nothing ever changed. Harry defends Morag at every turn, and my mother was gradually taken in. Mātā was so busy trying to run the business, and this ghost of a woman was seeping into everything, like a cold mist. I think it made poor Mātā ill.’

‘Really?’ She suddenly had Gillard’s full attention.

‘Yes. Her hair was falling out, and she was so fatigued. She was distraught about it. Tried everything, but it didn’t work.’

Gillard waited for more. He could feel there was plenty of venom left.

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Morag had taken some of Mātā’s hair and cast a spell on it.’

Gillard chuckled. ‘Now that’s a bit far-fetched.’

Prisha changed the subject. ‘You know why Morag dropped out of university, don’t you?’

‘I’m sure you’re going to tell me.’

She laughed, a short, bitter sound like choking. ‘She was pregnant. Secretly gave birth to a boy. A feral half-blood child called James. You know what that name means, don’t you?

‘No, but it’s a pretty common name.’

‘It’s from the Hebrew. Yacov. It means “he who grasps the heel”. Just as Jacob did in the Bible, trying to pull his twin back into the womb. I looked it up. Genesis 25:26. Jacob supplanted his brother by tricking his father.’

Gillard laughed. ‘There’s an awful lot of supplanters then. You can’t move for Jims in this country.’

‘Look, why do you think all the Scottish kings were called James? Because they wanted to supplant the English throne. They knew their Hebrew and they knew their Bible, while you have forgotten it. The Latin for James is Iago. Shakespeare knew.’