She left Paula’s house in a daze. She’d had to put her to bed at 8.15 p.m. with a sleeping pill, Paula drunk and sobbing and clutching Meredith’s arm with her bitten nails. Meredith didn’t think she should leave her, but Jackson, Paula’s taciturn twenty-year-old, home from uni for the summer, had come back from a fruitless search of Ralph’s local haunts. He assured Meredith he would look after his mother.

Somewhat to her shame, Meredith couldn’t get out of there fast enough, her guilt practically shoving her between the shoulders and through the front door. She was heading home, but as she drove through the village, past the immaculate, chocolate-box whitewashed cottages, the turning down to the marina loomed up ahead of her and suddenly she only wanted to be with Pete again.

She parked on the marina road and trudged down the metal steps to the water’s edge. It was a perfect summer’s evening, the river as calm as a millpond, the late sun creating a golden hue that suffused everything it touched. There were people out on the water, canoeing or punting, looking like they didn’t have a care in the world, when Meredith felt as if she had a huge black cloud above her head.

‘Evening Meredith! How’s your week been? Want to come in for that trim I promised you?’

It was Pete’s neighbour, Andrea, who was at the outdoor table on the rear deck of her wide-beam barge, a large drink in one hand and her phone in the other.

‘That’s bad for the baby,’ Meredith said grumpily, gesturing towards her glass.

Andrea laughed. ‘Is tonic only, silly! I am not so stupid. Come. You look like you need a drink too – one with gin.’

‘Let me check if Pete’s in – I need to talk to him. If he’s not, I will. Thanks.’

‘Bring him too,’ Andrea said with a cheeky smile, and, despite herself, Meredith smiled too. Those two were crazy about each other, she was convinced of it, but neither would admit it.

‘I’ll try.’

Meredith was very fond of Andrea, who was unfailingly generous with her time and never, ever seemed to be miserable, despite getting knocked up on a one-night stand when she’d gone home to Hungary to visit her elderly parents earlier in the year.

Meredith climbed onto Pete’s boat and tried the door, but it was padlocked. Peering in through the glass panel, it looked as if he hadn’t been there all day – a cereal bowl and empty cafetière sat on the galley counter. She had a spare key to the padlock, but suddenly she was glad of Andrea’s offer of company. She didn’t want to be alone with the jumble of thoughts swarming around her snowglobe head like white noise.