‘OK, but if I do, you have to keep strong, Hugh.’ She leant her head against the door. ‘Once upon a time, a very long time ago …’

*

It was dark, gone ten o’clock, when Verity pushed the key into the red door, and turned it in the lock. She’d found it in Felix’s room, after searching for almost an hour. ‘Hugh,’ she said, flicking on the light.

There was movement in the box propped against the wall. A panicked voice from inside: ‘Verity?’

She hurried over. A padlock held the box locked. She looked about her, searching for something to smash it with. She spotted a saw hanging on the wall, lifted it down, and thumped it down on the padlock over and over.

Hugh wheezed, breathless. There were holes in the back of the box, but his air was restricted.

‘Felix will never be back, Hugh. He’ll never hurt you again.’ Another whack – the padlock broke off, wood splintering. She opened the box to see Hugh, eyes red raw from crying. He held one arm limp against his side, taking shaky breaths as he stepped out onto the grass-green carpet, his face contorted in pain. He looked towards the door, fear in his eyes.

‘He’s never coming back,’ she said. ‘He’s gone forever.’ She touched her brother’s good arm. ‘He’ll never hurt you again.’

Hugh smiled as Verity put her arm round her brother.

‘Let’s see what food there is in the fridge, shall we?’ she said, guiding him towards the door. ‘You must be starving.’

*

‘Do you know where my father is, Nanny Bell?’ Verity whispered, a smile dancing on her lips, as the three of them were taken by police car from the island the following day. Nanny Bell had called the police when she arrived just after noon to report Felix missing.

The nanny stared at Verity for a long moment, narrowing her eyes as though trying to weigh the girl up. ‘You’re a peculiar child, Verity Flynn,’ she said.

‘Why, thank you.’ Verity squeezed her hands into fists. ‘That’s incredibly kind of you.’

It was clear Nanny Bell couldn’t hold eye contact. She pulled from Verity’s gaze.

Verity took a deep breath. ‘Why didn’t you help us, Nanny Bell?’ She screwed up her face, angry with herself that she was allowing her tone to weaken – that she sounded vulnerable.

‘You do know you’ll end up in care, Verity. That nobody will want to foster the likes of you.’ Nanny Bell looked at Hugh, knotted up into himself like a tortoise in a shell. ‘They will like him, possibly—’

‘You’re wrong. Nobody will come between my brother and me.’ Tears burned her eyes. ‘No one will ever come between me and Hugh.’

Chapter 16

Halloween Weekend 2019

Alice