He was covered in blood, but it wasn’t his; it belonged to Grace. Anna glanced down at the smears on her own clothes. She could smell the iron tang of it. Beside her, Grace was beginning a slow slump to the right. Anna reached for the hand towel that hung beside the basin and wound it round Grace’s wrist, then leaned her against the side of the bath. The blood soon spread like a rose through the fabric.

‘Anna.’ Douglas banged his fist against the wooden panels. The door shuddered but held strong. ‘If you stay with them you’ll be sent to prison for attempted murder. You’ll lose Kai. You’ll lose everything.’

Anna snivelled, wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve. ‘Go away.’

‘For Christ’s sake.’ He smashed at the door and one of the panels started to give, splintering. ‘Fuck you,’ he said. ‘You’ve screwed me over. You’re going to regret it. If I go down, so do you. And as for you, Grace; you always were a grasping little bitch; always on the lookout for a man to take care of you. The moment you saw Nick’s wallet, you were in there. Poor fucker.’ He shouted louder. ‘You didn’t stand a chance, mate.’

‘Stop it,’ Grace cried. ‘Shut up, Douglas. Leave us alone.’

‘Ignore him,’ Nick muttered, struggling on to his knees. He swayed, and Grace reached him, but he was too heavy for her and she collapsed under his weight.

Anna surveyed the scene: the floor flooded with blood and water; the petrified dog; the blood-soaked towel and the two people she had all but destroyed, lying entwined in the mess. She stood in front of the door with her feet apart, her arms heavy at her sides, took a deep breath and spoke.

‘It was me who persuaded Izzy to go into the river.’

Grace pushed herself up on her elbow. The banging on the door stopped, as if Douglas had heard.

‘I wanted Mum to be pleased with me for once. It was always Izzy and my brothers, never me. I wanted her to see me. Izzy was going to pretend to get into trouble in the water and I was supposed to save her. I told her not to get out of her depth, but she must have, or she lost her footing and got caught in the current. And I wasn’t there in time … I didn’t …’ Tears spilled from her eyes. ‘Your father was there, Nick. He kissed me. I was so staggered, I …’ She swallowed to get rid of the hard lump in her throat. ‘I thought I was in love with him.’

‘You let me believe it was my fault,’ Nick said.