‘Well, I am.’

She sighs. ‘Then I’ll just have to offload my traumatic memories on someone else. I’m sure Grace would love to know more about your past.’

‘Leave her out of this.’

‘I can’t, can I? She has a young daughter.’

His eyes bulge; he thinks he’s about to have a stroke. He realizes he’s stopped breathing and drags oxygen into his strained lungs. ‘Taisie, you know me. You know I wouldn’t do a thing like that. I told you the truth. I had a nightmare, I thought I was being attacked and I lashed out. I scared her, and she ran away. If she deliberately went into the river, then it wasn’t because of something I did. And if you think that I could molest a child, then all I can say is you have a warped mind.’

Toffee whines and circles, getting tangled in his lead. Nick sorts him out, using the time to gather his thoughts. When he unbends, she is still looking at him, a small smile on that near-perfect face. What else did she see? Did she see him run after Izzy? Did she see him cross the lawn to the woods? Did she see him come back alone?

‘Why would you do this?’ he asks.

‘Because your family took everything from me.’

‘Oh Christ,’ he says. ‘It was a bad business deal. It happens.’

‘Oh right. Great. A bad business deal,’ she mimics. ‘Get over it, Anna. Wow. You arrogant prick.’

‘I’m not arrogant, I’m practical. I apologize for the way my father behaved, and I’m sorry that Sean trusted him. Angus warned him not to and he …’ He hesitates. ‘Well, I know that it devastated you. That you lost so much.’

‘You have no idea what I lost.’ Her face reddens. ‘You have not got a fucking clue what your father did to me. What he took from me.’

Nick rubs his head with the tips of his fingers. This is something he wasn’t aware of. Should he have been? Perhaps she doesn’t mean what he thinks she means. He sincerely hopes so.

‘You’ve lost me now. What did Dad take from you?’

Her mouth is pinched, her whole body language folded in and withdrawn.

‘Everything.’

He sighs and holds out his hand, trying to placate her, to make her feel that old connection, but she shrinks away from him. He has a sudden vision of his father, rising godlike from the river, water running down his torso in rivulets; three teenage girls cavorting round him, vying for his attention. He looks closer at Anna, right into her eyes, and sees the hurt in there, the broken girl.

‘My father seduced you.’ It isn’t a question. His heart sinks. ‘You have every right to be angry with him, even with my family,’ he says. ‘But don’t destroy me because of who I am.’