Her words stopped short and when I followed her gaze, I realised that the sleeve of my jumper wasn’t quite covering my wrist.

‘Hattie,’ Dolly gasped, her face contorted with shock.

I tried to pull my hand free, but she held tight. For a woman of her age and slight build she certainly had a firm grip. She pulled my sleeve further back and the dark bruises, outlining Jonathan’s fingers almost perfectly, were revealed in all their ugly glory.

‘Oh no,’ she cried.

‘Don’t . . .’ I swallowed.

‘Is this why you came back?’ she demanded. ‘Is this why you came back so early on Sunday?

I nodded. There was no point denying it. I would have looked a fool trying to make out those marks were anything other than the result of Jonathan’s temper.

‘He said he was tired from travelling,’ I told her, then seeing the colour flood her face, very quickly added, ‘but of course I’m not going to accept that as justification for what he did.’

‘I should think not,’ she said, sounding livid, ‘and to think I had been seduced into believing that he really had changed.’

‘You weren’t the only one,’ I told her. ‘And up until recently he had.’

That said, I couldn’t now deny that there had been a gradual build-up of comments that, had I picked up on them, would have been proof enough that not all was well in mine and Jonathan’s very exclusive club. It had started soon after I was made redundant and I guessed that was the moment he thought he could tighten his stranglehold on me and make me even more reliant on him.

‘Or so I thought,’ I frowned.

I had assumed he was offering comfort and refuge but knowing how he had masterfully negotiated the estrangement from my parents I could see now that he had skilfully preyed on my vulnerability and bent me even further to his will.

‘Whatever happened at that hotel?’ Dolly asked. ‘Please tell me this was a one-off. He hasn’t been violent before, has he?’

‘No,’ I said reassuringly. ‘Never. And up until the weekend he hadn’t been verbally abusive since that other trouble either.’

‘So, what kicked this off?’ she said, nodding at my arm.

‘It was brewing long before the weekend,’ I told her. ‘Looking back over the last few months, I can see now that he was becoming possessive again and then on Sunday he woke in a foul mood and accused me of flirting with one of the waiters at breakfast. It was almost as if he was looking for something to pick a fight about. I’m certain he wanted something to kick off.’

Dolly shook her head. She was taking it all in while I was letting it all go. I felt pounds lighter for telling her and decided not to stop there. While I was sharing, I might as well tell her everything.