Maude’s face was flushed, she looked as if she might cry. ‘We were happy until you came along; me and Dad and Mum.’

‘That’s not what happened,’ Nell said. ‘Oh, God, Maude, what have you been thinking? What has Jess been saying to you?’

‘She didn’t say anything; I heard her on the phone, ages ago.’ Now Maude just looked plain miserable. ‘We were all happy, then you met Dad and that’s why they split up. He left her for you. It’s all your fault.’ She stopped, and Nell understood that this was the bit where she should explain, fix everything, make it all go away.

Only she couldn’t.

‘It wasn’t exactly like that,’ she said.

Lying.

‘You are – disgusting.’ Maude turned away and began to walk upstairs, leaning heavily against the banister. ‘Leave me alone, please. My foot hurts and I want to lie down.’

*

Nell couldn’t even ring Chris to warn him. She pulled Maude’s phone out of her pocket. There was barely a signal, besides, what would she say? She knows, Chris, she’s found out what we did; what I did.

Because there had been a choice, all those years ago.

She’d rationalised it as a harmless flirtation at first, when she was dropping off her pieces at his gallery, and then after the first couple of evenings in quiet bars, out of the way places, as a bit of fun.

Lies. It had been love at first sight; on her part, at least.

She’d known all about Jess and Maude when she and Chris had started seeing each other; worse, she hadn’t cared.

And look where they were now.

Chapter 24

24

Kym let herself in. She found her grandmother upstairs, sitting on her bed, slowly turning the pages of a photograph album.

She stood in the doorway for a moment. It never changed, this room, the bed neatly made and covered with a handmade quilt, the old rag rug to one side and the wall opposite dominated by the large bookcase that was crammed with novels, poetry, biographies, histories. One shelf was devoted to all the books Gina had used to read to Kym; the pair of them snuggled under the quilt. She had always felt safe here. Sunlight glanced off the large glass bauble Gina had suspended by the window, sending rainbow tinted slivers shimmering across the ceiling, and Kym felt a pang, saddened by the familiarity of it all. One day she would stand in this room with her grand-mother for the last time. One day she’d have to help pack all the books away.

She had tried ringing Evie, but there had been no reply. Her texts had gone unanswered too.

‘What’s all this?’ she said, sitting down next to Gina. ‘Are you having a tidy out?’

‘I was just looking,’ said Gina, moving to close the album.

‘Can I have a look?’