‘Don’t listen to me,’ said Cheryl, ‘there’s no harm in her, and he seems all right too. It’s just that she was always one of those girls who wanted to be – let in, I suppose. And she never could take no for an answer.’

*

Kym didn’t like Maude’s room; she couldn’t have said why, exactly, but everything felt odd, off.

It started with the climb up the little ladder, perhaps. There was something about the angle of it, the way the treads were set a bit too close, a bit too steep; or maybe it was the way you just sort of emerged into the room, head first, with that funny gap between the last step and the attic floorboards.

The ceiling seemed to pitch too sharply, and at the far end of the room the red brick chimney stack clung precariously to the wall. It was almost as if no improvement could reach here; the idea struck her again, more forcefully this time, it was as if the house still possessed its stubborn, untouched essence.

‘This is – nice.’ Kym sat down on one of the bunks, the one opposite Maude’s.

‘Are you all right?’

‘Fine.’ It was just a room, a plain, whitewashed attic.

‘You’re not going to throw up, are you?’

Kym smiled. ‘I’m supposed to be the one looking after you.’

Maude rolled her eyes, ‘Oh, please,’ she said.

*

Nell made her way to the buffet and picked up a plate. She wasn’t hungry, but she didn’t feel like sitting down, making polite conversation. As she slowly worked her way along the table, not finding herself tempted by anything on display, she was relieved to see someone else, a man she didn’t recognise, join her cousin. Introductions were made and he took Nell’s empty seat, leaning across to say something to Cheryl that made her smile.

‘You’ve escaped, then?’ Gina was standing at the end of the buffet, a platter of fresh sandwiches in one hand.

‘For a bit.’

Gina considered the spread in front of her, then rearranged a couple of plates, making space for the one she held. ‘There,’ she said. ‘It’s not pretty, but it’ll do.’

‘Did you do all this?’ It was impressive, the sheer amount of food, carefully arranged and portioned, but the thought of eating made Nell feel dizzy, sick.

‘Goodness, no. We all did a bit – I just told Jenny I’d help keep an eye on things. Tidy away empty plates, bring out fresh stuff when it’s needed. There’s the same amount again, stacked up in the kitchen.’

‘I didn’t realise I was supposed to bring something. No one said.’

‘Oh, don’t you worry about that, love. There’s more than enough.’ Gina nodded towards the empty plate Nell was holding. ‘Are you not going to use that?’