As DS May’s eyes meet Sergeant Collins’s, I realise they know about Andrew and Stephanie. Folding my arms, I sit back, watching them. ‘Go on.’

‘This is a little awkward.’ DS May looks uncomfortable. ‘But we have evidence that suggests that your husband and Mrs Hampton were intimate.’

As another layer of dignity is stripped away, I shrug. ‘So it would seem. I may as well ask, who told you?’

‘No-one. There were text messages on her phone – they made it quite clear what their relationship was. But you knew?’

I feel slightly sick. ‘I’ve only just found out. I worked it out after Stephanie died.’ When they look surprised, I add, ‘Oh, I knew he was having an affair – just not who with. Andrew’s had several affairs. I tolerate them.’

DS May’s face is blank. ‘Plenty of women turn a blind eye to their husband’s infidelity. But considering Mrs Hampton had confided in you, you must have been shocked.’

‘She told me I didn’t know how lucky I was.’ I shake my head. ‘I think she loved James, but he’d screwed things up between them. Maybe she needed someone more solid – like her good old, reliable doctor.’ Even I can’t believe I’m defending the woman who was sleeping with my husband.

DS May looks at me oddly. ‘You were OK with that?’

‘Absolutely not. Don’t try to understand my marriage, Detective Sergeant. It really doesn’t bear scrutiny. I stay for one reason only. My daughter.’

‘Why can’t you leave him?’ She makes no attempt to hide the genuine curiosity in her eyes. ‘You’re an independent woman. If you separated, half the proceeds from selling this house would buy you a lovely cottage, even around here. Children are often better off with divorced parents, rather than stuck in the middle of a war zone.’

‘You have no idea what goes on here.’ My response is too sharp. ‘Anyway, Andrew would destroy me.’ Watching their faces, I try to explain. ‘He likes the image. This house.’ I gesture around the large proportions of the kitchen. ‘His daughter, the private school she goes to … The fact that we’re together, when so many marriages flounder. Status is important to Andrew. He’s a doctor and it’s important that his patients believe in him.’ It’s about control, too, but I don’t tell them that.

From their expressions, I know I’ve painted enough of a picture for them to understand how he is. Then I add carefully, ‘None of us know how it is to be someone else, so I don’t believe any of us should judge.’ I’m thinking of Stephanie, obviously, but myself, too. Still watching them, I lean back in my chair again.

‘Do you think Hollie knew what was going on between your husband and her stepmother?’