Catherine’s eyes are wet with tears, only this time, I’m pretty sure they’re the real thing. I’ve only one card left to play.

“This baby is part of Alice, too.”

Her forehead pleats into a frown. She looks troubled by this.

Another drop of blood rolls down my inner thigh. “Please, Catherine, I’m begging you. Help me save her.”

She contemplates me through narrowed eyes. “I’ve never thought of you as family,” she says. “I never wanted to acknowledge your existence. I blamed you for everything. You and your mother.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her why she never blamed her father, but I stop myself just in time. I don’t want to aggravate her, not now I’ve come this far. She’s wavering and I don’t want to give her any reason to turn on me again.

“I wonder what Alice would say, if she were here now?”

She looks up, sharply, as if she’s never considered this before. Something in the atmosphere has shifted.

I need to choose my words carefully. My baby’s life may depend upon them. Mine, too. I think of the Bible I found in her room. The one she’s kept all these years. The inscription on the inside cover. It’s worth a try, isn’t it?

“And what about your Nanny Dot? She’d want you to help me, Catherine. I know she would. She’d want you to save this baby.” My voice falters. “Save your niece.”

She blinks, uncertainty in her eyes. I watch her throat move as she swallows, see the frown give way to something unexpectedly tender. Then the tenderness turns to panic and suddenly she’s reaching for my wrist and checking my pulse. She’s helping me to my feet. Terror and relief collide in my head like two opposing currents. She might be deranged, but she’s a trained nurse, and right now I need her.

A car door slams outside. I hear feet running up the path to the front door. A key turning in the lock.

“Lizzie? Lizzie, where are you?”

It’s Ross! I thought he’d be 30,000 feet in the air by now, but he’s here, in the house. He bursts into the room, breathless and agitated. He stops dead in his tracks. His face pales as he takes in the blood dripping slowly onto my feet and into the carpet, Catherine still clutching my wrists.

His fists clench at his sides. I’ve never seen him like this. He is livid. White with rage.

“What have you done to her?”

“It’s okay, Ross,” I say, flashing him a warning look. “She’s helping me. She’s taking me to hospital.”