I don’t want Stacey to feel pressured, but Felix has already broken the primary rule of the middle-class abuser by hitting her in the face, where she can’t hide the bruises. Whatever parameters they may have established in their dysfunctional marriage, they clearly no longer hold good. His attacks are escalating. Things could spiral out of control very quickly.

I should know.

‘Where’s Archie now?’ Tom asks.

‘Felix’s mother, Frances, picked him up yesterday and took him back to Devon with her for a few days,’ Stacey says. ‘He loves staying with her. And we thought a change of scene would do him good after his accident. He’s been so quiet and withdrawn since he got home. I don’t know what’s going on with him.’

I could hazard a guess, but now isn’t the time to discuss Peter’s role in what happened at the pool.

‘You can’t go back home while Felix is still there,’ I tell her. ‘It’s not safe. You can stay here with us till we figure out your next move.’

‘That’s kind of you, Millie, but I don’t want to put you out. You’ve done enough.’

‘You’re not putting us out. We want to help.’

‘At least promise us you won’t go home on your own,’ Tom adds. ‘If you need to get some things, I’ll come with you.’

I throw a grateful look at my husband. We may not always be on the same page, but when push comes to shove we’re on the same side.

I expect Stacey to argue the point, but to my surprise she acquiesces. ‘I’m due some leave,’ she says. ‘I can’t go into work looking like this anyway. But there’s no need to go back home: I always keep a holdall with a few days’ clothes in the car, in case I’m sent on a story. I could go and stay with a friend of mine in Exeter for a few days. She lives not too far from Felix’s mother, so I’d be close to Archie, too.’

‘We need to document your injuries first,’ I say, getting out my phone.

‘I’m not going to report it, Millie. I can’t do that to Archie.’

‘You need to report it for Archie.’

She won’t. My mother never did either. Fewer than one in five incidents of domestic abuse are ever reported to the police. On average, a woman experiences more than fifty violent assaults at her partner’s hands before getting effective help.

Every year in England and Wales there are over a million calls to the police to report domestic violence – which means there are another four million attacks going unreported. And even if Stacey were to go to the police, she’d probably change her mind later and refuse to press charges. Most abused women do. Even the rich and famous ones.