‘Awful,’ she says. ‘Nothing about any of this isn’t awful. I knew you hated me,’ she says, looking directly at me, ‘but this much? To try to destroy me?’

‘I don’t want to destroy you. All I want to do is help,’ I tell her and I realise that’s the truth. Now anyway. I just want to get us both – all of us even – through this.

‘You’ve made it worse,’ she says, her voice sad.

She puts her hand to her forehead. No doubt she feels the cold film of sweat that has broken out.

‘All these games,’ she whispers. ‘And now Alex.’

‘Alex will want to help too. He loves you. I can see that. When he knows everything, he’ll be able to help you.’

‘He thinks I’m losing my mind,’ she says. ‘All these things, the last few days. The doll, the missing book, the grave. All those things have him thinking I’m not right. That I can’t be trusted with Lily.’

Shame floods me again. The things I’ve done and said. But I’m not responsible for it all. Not for the prayer book. Not for the grave.

She starts to get up. ‘I want to go now,’ she says, reaching out for Lily. ‘Give her to me.’

‘You can’t leave!’ I say, holding Lily firm.

I won’t allow her to just walk away. We’re all living under a cloud and she is the person who has the power to stop it.

‘Who are you to tell me what I can and can’t do?’ she says, stepping closer. ‘Now please, hand my daughter over to me.’

Lily turns her head towards her mother’s voice. I hold her firm.

‘I’m not giving her to you when you’re behaving like this.’

‘I’m not behaving like anything. I just want to go because I don’t feel safe around you. I don’t feel safe in this house. I don’t feel comfortable with your accusations. So please, give my daughter to me and let us both leave.’

I don’t understand why she can’t see that I simply cannot and will not let that happen.

I shake my head and it’s me who is taking a step backwards now, taking her child further away from her.

‘No,’ I say firmly. ‘At least wait until Alex is here and then maybe he can talk some sense into you.’

‘Please! She’s my baby.’

I can see the anguish on her face as she longs to hold her daughter. I don’t want to be cruel.

‘I’ll give her to you,’ I say, ‘only if you stay. You have to promise me you’ll stay.’

She shakes her head but I can see she is wavering. Her desire to have Lily back in her arms outweighs anything else.

She concedes. I hand Lily to her and then I make sure that the front door is locked and she can’t leave even if she changes her mind. She has to realise that I’m doing this for her own good. It will be much worse for her if she doesn’t come clean.