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Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for The House of Whispers
  3. Title Page
  4. Note to Readers
  5. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  19. Twelve
  20. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  21. Thirteen
  22. Fourteen
  23. Fifteen
  24. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  25. Sixteen
  26. Seventeen
  27. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  32. Twenty-One
  33. Twenty-Two
  34. Twenty-Three
  35. Twenty-Four
  36. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  37. Twenty-Five
  38. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  39. Twenty-Six
  40. Twenty-Seven
  41. Twenty-Eight
  42. Twenty-Nine
  43. Thirty
  44. Thirty-One
  45. Thirty-Two
  46. Thirty-Three
  47. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  48. Thirty-Four
  49. Thirty-Five
  50. Thirty-Six
  51. Thirty-Seven
  52. Thirty-Eight
  53. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  54. Thirty-Nine
  55. Forty
  56. Forty-One
  57. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  58. Forty-Two
  59. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  60. Forty-Three
  61. Forty-Four
  62. Forty-Five
  63. Forty-Six
  64. Forty-Seven
  65. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  66. Forty-Eight
  67. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  68. Forty-Nine
  69. Fifty
  70. Fifty-One
  71. Fifty-Two
  72. Fifty-Three
  73. Fifty-Four
  74. Fifty-Five
  75. Fifty-Six
  76. Fifty-Seven
  77. Fifty-Eight
  78. Fifty-Nine
  79. Sixty
  80. Priory Hospital North London: 20 December 2019
  81. Acknowledgements
  82. About the Publisher

‘Nothing to report,’ said Mr Ho, so Rohan ordered his food. ‘And what about you, darling? The spicy chicken and cashew nuts?’

I nodded yes to the chicken. Mr Ho took the drinks order and left.

‘So what does this Grace do now? Where’s she been all this time?’ Rohan asked. Underneath the table, his foot found mine and pressed against it. He’d done the same on our first date, and at every date night since.

‘She’s a doctor,’ I said. ‘She moved to Australia after we left uni, and she’s been working there ever since. I’m not sure what she’ll do here. Probably try to get a job as a GP. And she also said something about some sort of medical volunteering. She’s the type who likes to “give back”.’

‘Oh okay,’ said Rohan, nodding his approval. I could see him thinking: respectable then, not some reprobate. ‘Is she married? Kids?’

I shook my head.

‘Okay,’ said Rohan, then he laughed: ‘Should I be scared?’ He laughed to show he was joking but my hesitation must have been more obvious than I thought.

‘Mind you, I don’t suppose she’ll be around much,’ Rohan said. ‘If she’s a doctor, she’s not going to have a lot of spare time, is she? Don’t they work seventy-hour weeks?’

I tried to smile but it came out more of a gurn. I took a sip of water. ‘Yes, I guess.’

‘Well,’ said Rohan, squeezing my hand, ‘it’s good you’ll have someone around—’ and suddenly there was a flash and a crack that made me leap out of my seat, followed by a commotion outside as the people sitting at the three aluminium tables Mr Ho had put on the open veranda jumped up, clutching their drinks and moving their plates, and I saw that, finally, after this long run of hot, arid weeks, it had started to rain.

Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019

‘How did you feel when you heard that Abigail’s friend Grace was coming to stay with her?’

‘I wasn’t worried at all. Why would I be? I was pleased. Abi had refused point-blank to come to New York with me and I was a little concerned about leaving her alone while I was gone. But then she mentioned that this friend was coming to stay and, honestly, I thought, thank God for that.’

‘You were relieved? Why were you so relieved?’