She looked so relieved. ‘That’ll be it, darling. And the adjustment to the country. Maybe once the baby’s here you could join some mother and toddler groups, that sort of thing. Or take a class – Nigel speaks very highly of his bookbinding course.’

Clearly, she hadn’t taken in the fact I had no access to a car. I hesitated. ‘Mum. If I need to, can I stay with you for a bit? Me and the baby?’

She paused a fraction too long. ‘Well, darling, of course you can, though your room’s really full of junk now, all my sewing things and the leaflets for the campaign to save the village green. It would be a lot to move – but of course! Whatever you need!’

In other words, no.

‘Thanks,’ I mumbled. ‘Let’s go with the Scandi drama, shall we?’ A bit of gloomily lit murder would suit my mood quite well.

The next day, I trailed back home. I felt thoroughly beaten. Mum had made it clear – this was my life now. Behind sealed glass and code-protected doors, raising my baby, making Nick happy. If that was even possible. The trains were slow, and it was after five when I got back. Nora’s cottage was in darkness again, and it unsettled me. Before, she had always been there, and now she kept going out. Did she know I’d found out who she was? And once again, the question that had rarely left my mind since I’d learned the truth – what the hell does she want?

Nick was there, of course, ready to find fault. He was at the kitchen table, surrounded by pictures of Poppet, and I saw that he was printing up a new poster. Another thing that was my fault.

‘Sorry,’ I said, too weary to even make excuses. ‘I just . . . it took a while. I got groceries.’

Nick got up, taking the bag of shopping I’d returned with. As I trailed round the aisles of the supermarket, I’d found myself wondering would I even be there to finish the sugar-free granola, the jar of peanut butter. If I would have escaped by then. But where to? Not to my mother’s, clearly. Nick slammed the door of the cupboard. ‘I mean, it’s not much to ask, is it? I work all day, and when I come back I want to find the house warm and welcoming, the dinner on.’

I gaped at him. ‘You came back before five o’clock! You’re telling me you wanted to eat dinner then?’

Another slam. ‘I want a wife who’s here waiting for me.’

‘I’m here every day! Where else would I go? I was at my mum’s.’