‘I knew he wasn’t settling in and that the girls weren’t being particularly helpful. But I thought they’d sort it out between them eventually. Kids will be kids.’

I look up into his face, surprised. ‘You didn’t see that your son was deeply unhappy, that he was being ostracized by the others? How could you not have seen that?’

‘They were supposed to entertain each other, and we assumed that was what they were doing. However, since you ask, I chose to ignore it because I believed my son had to learn to fight his own battles.’

‘You could have given him some fatherly advice.’

‘And humiliate him further by letting him know I had noticed? I don’t think that would have helped.’ Toffee deposits a stick at his feet, and he picks it up and throws it, sending the dog careering after it. ‘I was under a lot of pressure at the time.’

‘Yes. The restaurant. And your mishandling of Sean Wells’ investment?’

He brushes the comment away. ‘Nothing was mishandled. Sean knew that restaurants are high risk. Money should never come between friends.’

I try and reel myself in, to not turn my mouth into a weapon, but the words come of their own accord.

‘But it does, doesn’t it? You convinced him that his money was safe, that your restaurant was a sure thing, and you let him down.’

‘I was badly let down myself.’

‘Tim, can’t you see, it’s not so much the loss of the money as your attitude. You might not have meant it to come across that way, you might have been being defensive, but it felt to them as though you shrugged it off. If they hate you for anything, it’s your lack of remorse.’

He hunches his shoulders and we walk a few paces. ‘You may be right. It was hard, and I was embarrassed. And if they feel like that, then I’m sorry. But it was such a long time ago and it has no relevance to Nick’s life now. We’ve all moved on.’

‘You know that’s not true.’

He sighs. ‘Yup. But we all want the same thing, though, don’t we? We want Nick back home. Let’s try not to squabble.’

He links his arm through mine, and we walk on. I feel sorry for him, but this is a man who seduced his best friend’s fifteen-year-old daughter and was never taken to task for it. Well, he’s being punished now.

When we get back, I check my steps, something I haven’t done in days. Knowing how far I’ve walked and how many calories I have burned has slipped way down on my list of priorities. Only just over two thousand, but at least I’ve been out. Tim glances over my shoulder.

‘What’s that?’ he asks.