‘But I bet it was only in the water for a few seconds. That’s a bit different to me being underwater and swimming around with the phone in my pocket for like ten minutes.’

‘Can’t believe you jumped into the pool with it.’ Our son turned to me, smiling. ‘Can you believe it, Mummy?’

I knew why Sean had done it. He knew, too. But it didn’t matter. This charade of ours was all for the kids’ benefit.

‘It is a bit of a Daddy thing to do,’ I said, as cheerfully as I could manage.

We both knew it wasn’t an accident – I couldn’t ask him about the messages now, and that was that. Now that his phone was broken, I couldn’t access them unless I could get his login and password for Messenger online, and that was never going to happen. My guess was that after I left the poolside he’d checked his phone and seen the message. It seemed that he’d not been in time to warn Izzy off, though.

But I didn’t want Daniel to be exposed to the corrosion that was eating away at his parents’ marriage. Not yet. He needed to be protected for as long as possible.

Chapter 47

47

Sean

‘How long have you got?’ Sean said, looking over his shoulder.

‘Not long. Keep your voice down.’

‘I wanted to—’

‘Not here,’ she said softly. ‘Where’s Kate?’

‘Busy with the kids.’

‘We can talk downstairs in the wine cellar. Follow me.’

She led him across the kitchen to an alcove lined with jars and tins of food, with a door at the end. She went to it and pulled the door open, switching on the light and gesturing to him to follow.

A flight of concrete steps led downwards into the bowels of the villa, the air cool and earthy away from the fierce heat of the evening. They walked side by side, hands almost touching, down a long passage carved out of the rock, lined from floor to ceiling on one side with rack after rack of dusty wine bottles.

She stepped back into a shadow, beckoning to him.

‘So, how are you doing?’

He moved towards her, closing the distance between them. He put a hand on her arm, the skin warm and smooth beneath his fingers.

‘Kate knows,’ he said.

She shook her head.

‘No. She doesn’t.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘I just know.’

‘She’s convinced herself that something is up.’

She moved closer, lowering her voice.

‘That’s not the same thing as knowing. Not by a long way. What has she said to you?’

‘It’s just getting more and more complicated. I constantly feel like I’m going to fuck up and it’s all going to come crashing down.’

‘That isn’t going to happen.’

‘I don’t know how much longer I can do this for. I feel so guilty about it.’