Tania was lying on a sunbed in the shade of a large lemon tree. Watching her mummy and her auntie closely, she picked up on the underlying tension between the two women. She felt a tiny shiver of anxiety. She got up, went to her mother and, climbing on to her lap, she snuggled into the warmth and safety of her body. She was suddenly frightened again, but what of, she didn’t know. She felt her mother’s arms tighten around her, but instead of that making her feel better, it worried her. She understood somehow, that her mother was trying to gain comfort from her, not the other way round.

It was a hot day. The sky was a bright blue, without a cloud in sight, and the only noise was the high-pitched whirring from the cicadas. Even so, Lena felt a chill inside her. Something was very wrong, but she was determined to stay out of it. Experience had taught her that ignorance was bliss. And with the Christening coming up, surely everything would be back to rights? ‘I’ll be glad to get this baptism over, Ria! It’s taken long enough to find a date. I’m so pleased that you and Peter will be Tania’s godparents, like you are to the boys. I hope it all goes well.’

Ria smiled tightly. She knew that her husband would have to be worked on; he had to go no matter what had happened – she owed Lena that much.

Chapter Thirty-Three

‘It’s my Daniel, he wants to talk to you, Peter.’

Ria watched warily as Lena passed the phone to Peter, and sighed heavily as she saw the distress on his face. Ria knew her husband didn’t want to speak to him, but Daniel had used Lena, his wife, as the go-between, knowing that Peter would never have told Lena the truth of the situation. She hated that Daniel could be so sneaky, even though she had always known he was a fucking Judas deep down.

‘Come on, Lena, I can see a business call coming on. Let’s go outside and have a drink on the patio.’

Peter waited until the women were gone before he put the phone to his ear. ‘You know my thoughts, Delroy has relayed them to you. I have nothing else to say to you. You’re dead to me, Daniel.’

Replacing the receiver gently, Peter felt as though the great burden of Daniel Bailey had been lifted from his shoulders.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Lena felt sick with apprehension. She had waited so long for Tania’s Christening Day to arrive, and now she was wondering if it was even going to happen. She’d wanted it to be the family occasion it deserved to be, but now, in all honesty, she just wanted it over with.