‘No,’ he said. ‘Absolutely not! If you want to adopt a baby then we can do it through the proper channels. We can’t get involved in this. If the police find out we’ve taken a kid that doesn’t belong to us, forged a birth certificate … if they found out we knew what happened to that poor woman and didn’t tell them … What about her relatives? Her family? It’s wrong, Beth, you know it is.’

I looked down at the baby. I knew Doug was right, but God, she was so beautiful. I loved her immediately, I think. She was so defenceless and alone, her mother was dead, her father didn’t want her – what would happen to her now? I lifted her to my face and breathed in the delicious smell of her scalp. I think I already knew by then that I’d never be able to let her go.

Suddenly, Oliver seemed to find his voice. ‘All we ask is that you have her tonight. We can’t be seen with her, people will start asking questions. Please, just have her tonight and think about it.’

Rose caught hold of my hand. ‘I’m begging you, Beth, please help us.’

Doug shook his head and I pulled my hand away from Rose’s. ‘Doug,’ I said, ‘can I talk to you in the kitchen?’

Once we’d shut the door behind us, Doug hissed, ‘There is no way we’re doing this, Beth.’

‘Doug,’ I began, but he cut me off.

‘The very idea is insane. We can’t take in someone else’s child! A woman died tonight, we should tell the police!’

We must have been in there for half an hour, arguing back and forth. I think I wore him down in the end. ‘It’s one night,’ I promised him. ‘Just one night. Let the baby have a good night’s sleep in peace and we’ll decide what to do in the morning. Please, Doug,’ I said. ‘Please.’ I think he knew that there would be no talking me out of it and eventually, reluctantly, he agreed. ‘One night,’ he said. ‘That’s all.’

We went back to the living room. ‘All right,’ I said. ‘We’ll look after her tonight.’ I could hardly look at Oliver as he thanked us, his eyes full of shame and gratitude.

After they had left, Doug and I took care of Lana. We fed her, changed her, and made her a makeshift bed next to ours. She was such a good little soul; so peaceful and quiet. I did with her what I’d never allowed myself to do with any of the babies I’d looked after in the hospital: I closed my eyes and held her to me and let myself pretend she was mine. She seemed to fit in the crook of my neck so perfectly, it felt so right to have her snuggled against me.