There was a change in his posture then, a slowing of his movements. The muscles of his forearms bunched, as if for a fight, his chin lowered like a prize fighter expecting a blow.

‘What messages?’ he said.

‘On Messenger, to CoralGirl. Saying you couldn’t stop thinking about her. Saying you felt bad about lying to me and didn’t know how much longer you could keep on doing it.’

He twisted the wedding ring on his finger. Round and round.

‘When?’

‘Does it matter?’ I felt the heat of tears behind my eyes. ‘A few days ago. The day we arrived.’

I moved a little nearer to him, to the edge of the gorge, willing him to tell the truth.

Please don’t lie. Please. Not now. Please show me that I’m wrong, that I’ve got this all totally wrong, that there’s an explanation for all of it.

Please don’t lie.

He looked away, his jaw tight.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Messages on your phone. You said you were going to sort things out when we in France. This week.’

‘So you unlocked my phone?’

‘Yes.’

A muscle twitched under his eye.

‘You looked at my phone. My personal stuff.’

‘It’s Rowan, isn’t it?’ I felt my heart breaking, even as I said it. ‘The one you’re . . . seeing?’

He looked at me with a mixture of shame and regret and anger, and for a moment I thought he was going to tell me. To come out with everything, right here, in this unfamiliar place with our oblivious children nearby. To tell me he was sorry, that it didn’t mean anything, that he would finish it, and all those other things that men are supposed to say when they’re caught in a lie. There was something in his eyes that told me he wanted to tell it all, he wanted to confess, but couldn’t quite bring himself to do it.

I looked up at him, the sun behind him creating a halo of light around his head.

‘Well? Tell me.’

‘You shouldn’t have looked at my phone.’

‘Swear it to me.’

He took his hands out of his pockets and moved a step closer to me. ‘What?’

‘Swear that you’re not having an affair with Rowan.’

‘This is bloody crazy.’

‘Why?’ I said, my voice rising in pitch. ‘Why is it crazy? Why can’t you just say it?’

He sighed and looked at me, right at me, holding my eyes with his. No tremor, no flicker, no shadow of dishonesty.

‘All right,’ he said. ‘I swear I’m not involved with Rowan. There, I said it. Are you happy now?’

‘So who are you sending messages to? Who’s CoralGirl?’

He blinked once, twice, then looked away.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Is that really the best you can do?’

‘It’s the truth.’