‘The boys?’

‘Russ and Alistair are here too.’

I blinked in surprise, my mouth opening slightly.

What?

‘Russ and Alistair? But they’re not . . . Sean’s not . . . I mean they’re married. They’re not gay.’

‘The human heart is a strange old thing, Kate.’

‘The messages are from someone called CoralGirl, so I assumed that the sender was a woman.’

‘I’m playing devil’s advocate,’ she said. ‘Trying to see it from every angle.’

‘Do you know what, Izz, that had actually never occurred to me.’

She shrugged.

‘Just saying it’s a possibility, that’s all.’

‘Christ, I don’t think I’ve got the headspace for that just at the moment.’

‘Have you got anything else to go on, any other evidence?’

I thought again about the multi-million-pound deal that depended on Rowan keeping the relationship a closely guarded secret. About Russ’s drunken revelation on the balcony.

I think Rowan is having an affair. Something’s going on. I’m bloody certain of it.

‘Nothing . . . conclusive.’

‘And did you ask him about it?’

‘I couldn’t, I didn’t want to. It was such a shock at the time and I’ve just been trying to work out what to do for the best.’

‘Oh Kate.’ She pulled me into a hug, rubbing my back. ‘You poor thing. You must be so upset.’

I nodded, a painful lump in my throat. Willing myself not to cry again. Not again. ‘I’ve had better weeks.’

‘Is it possible you could have misinterpreted things? Maybe jumped to the wrong conclusion?’

Still defending Sean.

‘I don’t see how. What other conclusion can there be?’

‘I don’t know, Kate. Wish I did. It’s very hard to believe he would do something like that.’

‘What do you think I should do?’

‘To put your mind at rest?’

‘So I’ll know one way or the other.’

‘I honestly don’t know, love, but I’ll help you if I can.’

I pulled back from the embrace. ‘Help me?’

‘I’d like to.’

Daniel called up to me from the rock pool. ‘Mummy?’

‘Just a minute, love.’

I turned back to Izzy, keeping my voice low. ‘But you still don’t think he did it?’

‘Sean’s not got it in him to lie like that.’

‘How can you know that, though? How can any of us really know?’

She shrugged. ‘I just do.’

I wanted to believe her, I really did. But one thought was bouncing around inside my head like a crazy firework.

You would say that, wouldn’t you, Izzy? If you’re the other woman?

‘Mummy,’ my son said again, louder this time.

‘What is it, Daniel?’

‘How deep do you think the water in that pool is, up there below the waterfall?’

‘Hard to tell – six feet, maybe? Why?’

He pointed, his arm raised high. ‘Because Jake’s about to jump into it.’