Her bedroom had barely changed since she’d lived here: the same wallpaper that she’d chosen when she was fourteen, the same molting rug by the bed, the same sage-green duvet, and lines of paperbacks along one wall. The table where she did her homework. A round, deep-framed mirror she had stood in front of to put on makeup or thread earrings into her lobes. There were curling, faded photos pinned to the corkboard—herself and friends sticking their tongues out at the camera, herself and her elder brother, Michael, sitting cross-legged outside a tent, and she remembered that holiday and how it had rained every day, herself at the school prom, wearing a long, frothy dress she had hired for the evening and felt ridiculous in and someone had tipped red wine all over.

Her mother had made vegetable lasagne, which was the family comfort food. It was creamy and rich and full of carbs. Everything was a code for something else. They had a bottle of Chianti, which made Jude’s head swim. She was so tired, so mugged by all the events, the losses and surprises and body blows of grief. She didn’t tell them about Liam’s will, because she didn’t yet know what she was going to do.

At half past nine she went upstairs with a cup of tea, cleaned her teeth, put on pajamas and climbed into bed with a hot-water bottle. Her friends would be getting ready to go out, pulling on finery, calling each other to check details, but that seemed a distant world.

She turned her phone back on and almost wished she hadn’t. She was going to have to reply to all the messages and the missed calls, go through the edited story over and over again. Not now though. She would sort out the mess of her life later.

Turning on the bedside lamp, she pulled the documents out of the envelope and skimmed through the first pages. I, Liam, presently of . . . sound mind . . . revoke all prior wills and codicils . . .

Danny’s name and her relationship to him.

Alfie’s name: Alfie Kelner Birch. Jude looked at his date of birth: he was a year and one month old.

Then came the bit about the executors. Jude read through twice what the powers of the executor were. There were an intimidating number of them: to pay Liam’s legally enforceable debts out of the estate, and all expenses to do with the administration of his estate. To take all legal action to have probate of the will quickly and simply (she didn’t even know what this meant). To maintain, exchange, continue, dissolve or sell any personal property. To purchase or liquidate investments, to open and close bank accounts, to exercise voting rights in connection with shareholding. To maintain, settle, abandon, make a claim against or otherwise deal with any actions . . .