She ushered them outside, still all smiles, and Hannah was thinking to herself how lucky Bill was to have such a cool mum.

It was as they were crossing the field to the pond, Rosie skipping ahead with Miles and Jill and Hannah walking with Tash and Lauren, that she realised that she had forgotten to pack her towel, and her stomach dropped in disappointment, knowing she wouldn’t be able to go in the pond.

‘Why don’t you go ask Mrs W if she will lend you one?’ Tash suggested.

‘I don’t want to put her out.’

‘I’m sure she won’t mind, Hannah,’ Lauren agreed. ‘You know how lovely she is, and you want to be able to come in the water with us, don’t you?’

She really did and her friends were right.

Leaving them with her bag and telling them she would catch up with them at the pond, she sprinted back to the farmhouse, surprised when she entered the kitchen to find it empty. The leftover cookies and lemonade were still on the table and shards of smashed glass all over the floor.

‘Mrs Wickham?’

Hannah wandered further into the house, the coolness of the building a stark contrast to the warm day outside. So far, she had only ever been in the bright sunny kitchen with its yellow painted walls, plus she had used the loo once, that was just off the kitchen. As she made her way across the hall, she couldn’t help feel she was trespassing.

‘Mrs Wickham?’

There was a sound coming from upstairs and Hannah waited for a moment, not wanting to go up uninvited.

‘Mrs Wickham?’

Still nothing.

She wasn’t intruding if she was making her presence known, was she?

As she climbed the stairs, nerves jiggled in her stomach, but curiosity pulled her forward. Her hot palm was cooled by the banister and the pine scent of furniture polish lingered in the air. Mrs W had a very tidy house, but it was an old building and upstairs the ceiling was covered in dark wooded beams. Hannah’s family lived in a relatively new property and she had never been inside anywhere like this, its low, sloped, stripey ceiling fascinating her.

She was about to call out for Mrs W again when she heard the voices, realising they came from the room opposite the stairs. The door was open a crack and she shyly approached, jumping when she heard the loud slapping sound, followed by a whimper.

Mrs W was talking in a low voice and her tone wasn’t the friendly one she used with Hannah and her friends. Peering through the door, she caught her breath.