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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

Toxic friends are freeloaders – they take advantage of your generosity and give nothing in return. They can stay at your house for months or years without chipping in for groceries or even offering a thank you.

I couldn’t have made it up.

They’re self-centred. Their life is a drama. They talk too much. They’re judgemental, big-headed, stubborn; they’re picky, needy and difficult to please.

And then, a sentence that forced a shudder through me:

They’re resentful: they never give up their ruthless nature. If they believe you have wronged them, they won’t forget until their mean-spirited wrath is launched on you.

I snapped the iPad shut and went upstairs to paint.

I wasn’t ready yet to use the negative emotions I’d just triggered – just as my relationship with Grace had changed from the day I’d been grateful to have her as a friend to the day I’d finally, dramatically, thrown her out of the flat; the portraits, too, would darken. But, for now, on the third picture, I was still in the happy phase – the innocent phase – and I needed to focus on all that had been good in our friendship.

We had lots in common. During the first week of university, we’d discovered that Grace also used to live not far from where I was brought up, in Kent. Her family had moved away when she was ten but they still visited from time to time, and she knew the same places that I did. Incredulously, we’d listed the places we used to go; all the castles that children got taken to in the summer holidays. Leeds Castle, Hever Castle, Chiddingstone and Bodiam. Maidstone, Rochester, Canterbury, Dover. She, too, had played in Knole Park, been to Howletts Zoo and got lost at Groombridge Place. Over the years, we’d both been subjected to the same ‘edifying’ experiences and days out. We even worked out that we’d both bought chips at the same chippy in the same tiny village.

‘What are the odds?’ Grace had gasped, making me feel special to have this link, this bond, with her. ‘Just imagine if you’re in the background of one of my photos!’ and we’d looked at each other, eyes wide and mouths hanging open at the thought, then scrolled frantically through the pictures on our phones, expanding screens and passing them backwards and forwards to each other.

‘Could this be you?’

‘I had a dress like that!’

‘Nah. I never wore my hair like that!’