‘Write-off,’ he said in a hoarse voice.

‘What do you mean?’ cried Grace.

‘Nothing could survive that heat and smoke damage. Seems there was some sort of explosion. Gas maybe. They’ve got inspectors there now.’

Stricken-faced, Grace stared at him. ‘Was anything saved?’

He shrugged. ‘They’re not sure yet, but it doesn’t look like it. Maybe a few small things. There wasn’t much they could do. Stopped it spreading, at least.’ He walked ahead and sat down on one of the verandah chairs.

‘Daisy wants her Princess Piglet.’ It sounded petty, but suddenly her daughter’s favourite toy seemed valuable and important. Grace sank into a chair, stroking the beloved family cat.

‘Buy her another one. You can’t go looking for anything there, it’s too dangerous. Although the safe was supposed to be fireproof. Your jewellery might be okay.’

Grace had been thinking of their photos, books, the vinyl records, Princess Piglet.

‘So what now?’ She looked down at the cat settling on her lap.

‘We’ll just have to move forward. Can you and Daisy keep staying here with your mother for a few more days while I sort things out? The drive out here takes forever.’

‘Is there any way we could move into my Paddington apartment?’ asked Grace. It was small, but the apartment Grace’s grandmother had left her would make a convenient home in the short-term.

‘It’s tenanted, remember? On a lease.’

‘I know. Just thought it was an option we could explore, if the lease is due to expire soon. The Robinsons said we could stay with them for a couple of weeks. That way, Daisy could still go to school with Harry and see her other friends.’

‘Do you really want to live under the same roof as another family? We’re not that close and we’ve only known them for a year or so. Daisy can move schools, she’s young.’

Grace bit her tongue. She wanted to say that no matter how young Daisy was, going to her old school with her friends and the teachers she knew was important for her – it would keep some stability in her life. But, as usual, she didn’t have the energy to disagree with Lawrence. Often when she made suggestions, he would feign patience and inclusion, but nonetheless would eventually press home his point. At other times when she said something he disagreed with he’d simply lecture her. When she came up with ideas, Lawrence would rarely admit that they were sensible and practical. Instead of agreeing with her he’d just get annoyed. He was so disparaging that she’d stopped trying a long time ago.

Grace hated to acknowledge it, but she could see how she’d lost confidence in herself and her decisions as Lawrence constantly undermined her. God, could she keep on living like this?

‘Oh well, I guess not,’ she said. The matter of Daisy and the school was settled. Plus, in this case, having Daisy at a school nearby wouldn’t be all bad. ‘Mum loves having us here and I can leave Daisy with her when I have to go in to the agency. I don’t have my laptop and I have no idea yet how many files I lost when it went up in flames.’ She paused, biting her lip.