“Why are you trashing your marriage to Mum?” probed Carl Talbot. He slid Lily a spiteful stare. “You and Mum were always so happy together, although she did tell me about the other women you had while you were married and she turned a blind eye to it.”

Flynn senior’s mouth ground into a taught line. He hesitated, his fingers lingering above his shirt sleeves. Lily reached over and stroked his arm in an act of encouragement.

With growing resolve, Flynn senior’s fingers began to roll up his shirt sleeves. Beside me, Flynn reached for my hand and we sat, our fingers locked together in supportive unity.

Flynn senior addressed Carl. “So, this is a sign of a happy marriage, is it?”

Under the dripping chandelier light, Flynn senior’s swathe of pitted, abused skin on his arms screamed out.

Carl’s pale blue gaze became stricken with horror.

“Your mother did this,” stated Flynn senior. “Sometimes it was with a cigarette. Other times with a dripping candle. Then at other times, when she couldn’t be bothered to go to the trouble of either of those, she would hit me with anything that came to hand.”

Lily’s crumpled expression tugged at my chest.

Diana swallowed.

“Your mother would accuse me of all sorts of terrible things and then attack me”,” said Flynn senior, training his full attention on his son. “She would say I was ignoring her or that I was being condescending to her; that I was stealing money from her but it wasn’t true. None of it. I think she grew jealous of the attention I got and that stoked her temper.” Flynn senior then flashed his grandson a look. “I felt ashamed.”

Carl looked stricken.

Flynn senior addressed his reeling son. “I know she never laid a finger on you, but I wasn’t prepared to take the chance. That’s why my intention was for you to live with me and Lily at Merry Wood.”

Beside me, I could see Flynn give a brief nod that he understood. He swallowed a ball of emotion and stroked my fingers.

Flynn senior looked softly at Lily beside him. “If it hadn’t been for falling in love with this lady at the time, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Carl cleared his throat. He looked like he was struggling to speak. “So let me get this straight. You’re telling me that my mother did that to you?”

“Yes. She did.”

Flynn senior rolled his sleeved back down over his offending wounds. “I hoped she might stop. I convinced myself she would, but her violent outbursts just got worse. That was until she got the opportunity to go to Africa.”

Flynn senior delivered a small smile to Lily beside him. “But by that time, I had met and fallen in love with Lily.”