Funny, in a way, in retrospect. Little girls don’t know what they’re saying. They misbehave, they’re punished, they let fly with some new language to express their rage, and it’s all forgotten in the space of an hour. Joan didn’t respond, except to put Suzanne in the cupboard; but she didn’t forget, or not completely. Wasn’t she remembering now?

Joan heard a footstep – someone outside. The door rattled. A pause; another attempt; then: ‘Joan? Have you locked the door?’

It was Henry – his normal voice. ‘Henry? Is that you?’

‘It’s me,’ he said. ‘Let me in.’

She ran and touched the little key, and was almost impressed with herself, with her body, to see her hand shaking. The chemicals, adrenaline – they worked. It was all so ridiculous, but when it was happening, how were you to know? Better to have the reaction and feel like an idiot later than stand paralysed and disbelieving while something went wrong.

‘I fetched Richard,’ Henry said. ‘We brought a takeaway.’

So much for the lamb. But that didn’t matter. He’d brought dinner, he was here, he was sorting it out. Kind, dependable Henry. He would forgive her – he always did. The key turned, and the door came open. There he was, in his waterproof jacket, with a puppet on his hand: some sort of shaggy doggy beast the same silver as his hair.

‘What on earth have you been doing?’ asked the beast, but it was Henry, it was Henry’s own voice. Inside its mouth was a circle of pink felt.

‘You’re all having fun with me, aren’t you?’ Joan cried. ‘You’re all in on it together. Is it meant to be a joke? Was it Claire’s idea?’

‘What’s going on?’

‘Stop waving that thing around, Henry, or God help me, I will rip it off your hand.’

‘Federico said you were acting strangely. He said you’d lost your voice.’

Hearing this, Joan thought quite calmly that she might have gone mad. Wasn’t that what madness was – believing in a version of events that didn’t tally with the versions of others? Seeing the innards of your head in the world outside?

‘Where’ve you put it?’ the Henry-beast asked.