‘No!’ A group of people sitting at the next table glanced over at them in surprise and Emily stared down at her hands for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was very quiet. ‘I hope, soon, I’ll be able to go home. When all this is over, when we’ve found Luke, I will go back to my parents. But you must let me do that myself. I don’t want someone else to break the news to them, to fill them with hope when I don’t know how long it will be before I can go back to them.’

‘But—’

Emily leaned forward, gazing at her urgently. ‘It wouldn’t be safe, for my parents, or for me, if I return home now. You have to trust me, Clara. But I will go to them. When they’ve found Luke, I will go home, I need more time, that’s all.’

Clara searched Emily’s face. ‘What do you mean,’ she said, ‘“it wouldn’t be safe”? What are you frightened of? If you’re in danger, you must—’

‘Clara,’ Emily cut her off. ‘I can’t talk about it. If you can’t promise me that you won’t tell them, I’ll have to leave.’ She half rose from her seat and Clara put her hand out to stop her.

‘No, please stay, please. I promise. I just …’ she trailed off uncertainly. It didn’t make any sense, and she didn’t know if she could bear to keep something so huge from two people she loved so dearly. But it was clear that Emily wasn’t going to explain herself now. Finally, she said, ‘Do you promise you will go to them, when Luke’s found?’

Emily nodded. ‘I promise, Clara. All the attention should be on him now, on finding him. There’s nothing I want more than to see them again. I’m just asking you to keep this secret for a while longer.’

And what if we don’t find Luke? The unwelcome thought snaked its way through Clara’s mind and with effort she pushed it away. Reluctantly she nodded. ‘OK.’

A man by the bar went over to the jukebox and within moments the soulful strains of a Joan Armatrading song filled the room.

‘What are they like now,’ Emily asked, ‘my mum and dad? I’ve tried so hard to imagine them over the years; to picture them as time passed, but it’s difficult after so long.’

Clara stared down at her drink as she thought how to answer. ‘Before Luke went missing they were … happy, in a way, I guess. But you must know that they never got over you leaving. How could they? They don’t talk about you because it’s too painful, but I know that they think of you every day.’