Nina looked back at Emil and Bell saw how their eyes met in silent acknowledgement, how – for the first time since he had come out here – a flicker of warmth glowed in his eyes. He’d overheard their conversation at the bottom of the stairs. He’d overheard Nina telling her Måns knew something about his past. The question was – had Nina known he was listening?

She saw Nina wink at him and had her answer. She knew exactly how to get her brother to listen to her after all.

A few spots of rain landed, bleeding into the tablecloth, and Bell looked up at the darkening tumult in the sky.

‘– And of course, the headaches I’ve been getting – so much worse with the concussion . . . it turns out they weren’t random. My brain wasn’t breaking down, as I feared. It was reaching out. Searching for the memories that would explain the black hole that’s been in the very centre of me since I opened my eyes. It was why I can’t sleep, why I can’t . . . forgive. Something deep inside me knew it was what put me here in the first place.’ He stared at Hanna intently. ‘Do you remember?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she whispered, looking cowed.

‘Sure you do. There was a strong breeze that night – like today – and you didn’t quite push the door fully on the latch. It was banging a little; not much, but Måns has never been a heavy sleeper. And when he went to check, he found on the floor, just inside the door, a small piece of paper with a note on it.’

Bell felt her breath catch. What note? When? What was going on?

‘Well, you know how fastidious Måns is. He wouldn’t simply ignore something like that. For security reasons, we can’t have . . . unexpected guests on the island.’ Bell watched as he bit his lip, the emotion getting to him. ‘Imagine his disappointment when he saw what he saw.’

‘No –’ Hanna protested, shaking her head vociferously, her eyes filled with tears.

‘Oh no,’ he said quickly, patting her hand. ‘It wasn’t you who disappointed him, Hanna.’ Bell watched her expression change from fearful to suspended fear. But in Emil’s face . . . she saw now what it was that was missing. No . . .

‘No, no, no. He said he wasn’t somehow surprised about you.’

. . . No love.

Emil lifted his eyes off her. ‘But you, Max . . . when he saw your boat roped up.’

Clarity dawned like a thunderclap, and Bell gasped so loudly, Emil’s concentration was broken as he looked over at her. Had he forgotten she was there? Hanna broke into wretched sobs, hiding her face in her hands, as Max’s jaw clenched with dangerous intensity.

‘It could have started a lot earlier than it did!’ he exclaimed, his hands flat on the table, arms bent out and elbows pointed like a dragon’s wings. ‘She was miserable with you for years and you didn’t even notice because you were too busy playing empires, trying to impress your father!’ He furiously jabbed a finger towards him. ‘So don’t play the victim with me, Emil! I was a loyal friend to you. For far longer than you deserved!’