Doug’s head whipped round and his face signalled shock at seeing his wife and daughter.

Behind Evie, Mary reached the top of the steps and, taking in the significance of the scene immediately, she grabbed Penny’s hand and led her back to the car, hissing to the girl to be quiet, as she started to protest.

Doug flicked his head sideways to the Malayan woman and spoke to her rapidly in her own language. The only words Evie recognised were bilk mandi, which she remembered meant bathroom. The woman was slight, with delicate features, waist-length hair and of an indeterminate age, although Evie guessed she was older than she appeared. Feeling her knees buckle and her throat dry up, Evie watched, mute, as the woman took Jasmine’s hand and led her out of the room.

Evie’s eyes swept around the room. It was spartan – barely furnished apart from the table, on which were the unwashed dishes from an interrupted meal. Behind her husband, she glimpsed an unmade bed through an open doorway. She felt the bile rise in her throat. Her hands flew to her mouth as her body began to shake. Leaning back against the door frame, she tried to gather her thoughts. How was this happening? How could he? Like a punch in the stomach, her world and everything she believed in crashed around her. No! Oh God, no!

Douglas said nothing, staring at her in shocked silence.

She hissed at him, ‘I don’t want that woman near our daughter.’ She stumbled along the corridor where she found the woman waiting outside the closed bathroom door. Pushing her out of the way, Evie opened the door and found Jasmine inside pulling up her knickers. She waited, numb and in shock as the little girl dipped the dipper into the large Shanghai jar, poured it into the ceramic wash bowl and washed her hands.

‘Come on, darling. Do hurry up.’ She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice but realised she was almost croaking.

‘Miss Helston always says we must wash our hands when we go to the lavatory.’ Then, ‘Why are you crying, Mummy? What’s the matter?’

Her step-daughter’s lip was trembling so Evie forced herself to breathe deeply and gather her composure. ‘I’m not crying, darling. I’ve just got something in my eye. We need to go right away as Miss Helston doesn’t like driving in the dark and we don’t want to miss the ferry.’

Expecting Jasmine to argue, Evie was relieved that, as if sensing something bad had happened, the girl complied and followed her out of the bathroom. There was no sign of the Malayan woman when they emerged.

Back in the main room – there was no way that Evie would dignify the scruffy space with the word drawing room – Douglas was pacing up and down.

‘Go to the car, Jasmine,’ she said. ‘Tell Miss Helston I’ll be out in just a moment. I need to speak to your father first.’