‘And it was why I pulled you into the business, Tess,’ he went on. ‘I thought if I could give you something to focus on, you wouldn’t have time to worry over or question your parents’ failing marriage. It was why I worked you harder than everyone else,’ he added. ‘I wanted to keep your eye trained anywhere other than on the home front.’

My head felt lighter than ever and my stomach rolled in response. Not only was I having to reassess everything I thought I knew about my mum, I was also reeling from how my own life had been moulded as a result of Dad’s misguided attempt to protect me.

‘Why didn’t you just tell me?’ I whispered. ‘You could have told me.’

I don’t know how I would have reacted but I hated that he had lived with this for so long and not confided in anyone other than his laptop.

He let go of my hand and sat back.

‘I didn’t feel that it was my place to,’ he said. ‘I didn’t want to be the person who set the ball rolling. I couldn’t risk either you or your mum resenting me for forcing her hand.’

‘So, you just put up with it.’

‘I tried to,’ he said, ‘but it wasn’t easy.’

Easy or not, it wasn’t something I could have done.

‘But you did it.’

‘As I said,’ he sighed, ‘I tried. I didn’t always manage particularly well, but I did my best.’

‘Oh Dad,’ I said, shaking my head again before thinking better of it.

‘It’s okay,’ Dad smiled.

I wanted to believe it was, but I couldn’t. He had sacrificed so much of himself, so many years and I hated the fact that I had been so ready to accept that he was the one in the wrong.

‘I really don’t know what to say,’ I sighed as I tried to make some sort of sense of it all.

No wonder he had struggled to show his grief. I could see now that Mum had left him long before she died and his reaction to sorting through her clothes wasn’t because he didn’t care, it was because he knew the real reason behind why there were so many wardrobes full of them.

‘Why didn’t you tell me after Mum had gone?’ I asked him. ‘Surely, it would have been easier then.’

‘I was going to,’ he said, ‘the day we started sorting through everything in the dressing room. That was the day I had decided that I would explain.’

‘So, why didn’t you?’

Dad smiled.