There is a shocked silence.

“You can’t be serious!”

“I am. Imagine how I felt when she turned up at our housewarming party.”

“But Lizzie, that was ages ago. Why are you only telling us this now?”

I’m about to say “That’s a bit rich, coming from you,” but I bite my tongue. The last thing I want us to do is fall out.

“She’s different now, Mum.”

There’s a pause as she takes this in. “Lizzie, surely you can’t have forgotten how badly she behaved after Alice died?”

“Of course I haven’t forgotten,” I say. “But that was twelve years ago. She knows it was wrong of her and she’s apologized.”

“Ross works with her, you say?”

“Yes, she’s one of the practice nurses at Plumtree Lodge.”

“I thought she was a secretary.”

“She was. But then she trained as a nurse.”

“I presume this means you’ve told Ross about Alice? I mean, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have. You are engaged, after all. It’s just that…we both kind of assumed that you hadn’t, that you wanted to draw a line under all that.”

“I don’t think it’s particularly healthy to keep secrets from someone you love. Do you?” The words are out before I can think better of them.

I hold my breath, scared I’ve gone too far.

“Do you see her socially?”

“We’ve met since the party, yes.”

“I’m not sure about this, Lizzie. I really don’t think it’s a good idea to get mixed up with the Dawsons again.”

I can just picture the lines of concern etching Mum’s face, the way she’ll be tightening her mouth so that her chin looks all puckered.

“Has she said anything about…her parents? Do they still live in the same house?” Her voice is stretched with tension.

“No. They moved to Devon.”

I hear her sigh again. It sounds like relief. “Listen,” she says. “I’ve got to go. I’ll phone you later.”

—

“Later” turns out to be less than fifteen minutes.

“Lizzie, I’ve been speaking to your dad.”

I guessed as much the second she hung up. It’s so unlike Mum to finish a call first. She must have been desperate to fill him in.

“He’s very concerned at this…this growing friendship between you and Catherine. He thinks—we think—that you should rein it back a little. Keep your distance.”

“But you’ve always taught me to be forgiving. Isn’t that the Christian thing to do?”

It’s a cheap shot, I know it is, throwing her own homilies back in her face, but if it’s so important to her, and Dad, that I don’t get involved with the Dawsons again, then they need to be honest with me about why.