“Your dog is very well trained,” Arthur said. He let himself in, bending to stroke Perry’s velvety head. The dog promptly rolled over, begging for his stomach to be tickled.

Arthur straightened. “I never imagined you as a dog person,” he said.

“I grew up with dogs,” Lizzie said. Her throat was dry, her heart beating fast. “At least when I was staying with Jules’s family.” She felt a pang of nostalgia. “I wanted a dog when I moved to London,” she said, “but I was too busy. It wouldn’t have been fair.”

“You could have got your assistant to look after it,” Arthur said, “or found one that fitted into a handbag.”

“Kat doesn’t like dogs,” Lizzie said. “The clue is in her name.” She smiled at Perry. “Besides, if I have a pet I want to look after it myself otherwise what’s the point? He’s not just an accessory.” She raised her gaze to Arthur and sighed. They could carry on talking about dogs forever or they could be brave.

“Would you like to come in?” she asked. “There’s some coffee—or lemonade. Avery makes it for me.”

Arthur followed her over to the terrace and into the kitchen, Perry trotting along behind. “You seem...settled...here,” he said. There was a question in his voice.

“It’s early days,” Lizzie said, “but I think I may be.” She gestured him to a chair and poured lemonade from the painted jug. Her hand shook a little, spilling drops of liquid onto the table. “Arthur—” she said, but she didn’t know how to continue, what to say.

“I thought you’d like to know how Johnny’s getting on,” Arthur said. He sounded distant. Lizzie’s heart ached.

“Yes,” she said. “Please. I hope he’s doing OK.”

“He’s pretty subdued,” Arthur said, “but he’s back at school and he’s seeing a counsellor and I think he’ll be fine in a while.” He stretched his legs out, sitting back. “He wanted to come with me today, actually, but I told him I needed to talk to you alone first. He says he’s got a lot of explaining to do and he hopes you’ll forgive him. He really means it this time.”

“Right,” Lizzie said. She scrubbed at the spilt juice, avoiding his gaze.

“Lizzie,” Arthur said. “It’s not your fault. Johnny took advantage of all of us in different ways because he was so obsessed with breaking the pattern and bringing Amelia back. There was no space in his life for anything else. And the truth of what Anna did would have come out even without your involvement. None of this is your fault.”

“I know,” Lizzie said. She swallowed hard. “I know that really. It’s just...” She took a breath. “I feel as though my actions shattered what was left of your family,” she confessed. “Even though I never intended it.”

When Arthur didn’t deny it or reassure her, she felt a little bit sick. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was that they had barely started to know each other and now they were strangers again. She wanted to ask if they could try again but that sounded both needy and selfish, and she shied away.