‘Absolutely not,’ Justine replied. ‘If anyone showed anger it was—’ She stopped before she could let Faith’s name slip. ‘It wasn’t Nick. He was quiet and charming.’

‘While he lied to us,’ Tara added, needing to remind them all that even the dead had their faults. ‘And he must have had a ruthless streak to do what he did to Erin.’

Olivia took the blow without flinching. ‘You don’t know him like I did. My brother was the kind of person who got what he wanted without even trying. God knows how he passed his exams, and when he landed a job investing other people’s money, it was like a game to him,’ she said. ‘It was me who introduced him to Erin and when they announced their engagement, I took it as a sign that he was ready for the grown-up stuff, but it turns out he wasn’t. When she got sick, he used his career as an excuse and ran away like a frightened child.’

Tara took in Josh’s silence as much as Olivia’s words. She could understand why Nick’s sister would rush to defend her brother’s name, but why was Josh there? ‘Erin must have been devastated when they split up,’ she said, to test his reaction. There was none.

‘To be fair, they both were,’ said Olivia. ‘And I know Nick doesn’t deserve any sympathy for what he did, but Erin forgave him eventually. Tell them, Josh.’

They all looked at him, and Josh was obliged to respond. ‘Erin spent her last months getting her affairs in order and that included resolving her feelings about Nick’s abandonment. They met – but only the once,’ he said. ‘It definitely wasn’t an affair – that was a complete fabrication. Nick may have declared his undying love, but Erin didn’t reciprocate those feelings. All she wanted was to show him what it was like to be the better person.’

Talk of Erin’s final months triggered Tara’s memories of Mike. She had encouraged her husband to do all the things he had put off while building his business and making a family. He had suggested a holiday to Paris, wanting to fulfil a dream of hers rather than one of his own, but the journey would have killed him. She might have killed him herself if he’d suggested a catch-up with an ex-girlfriend.

‘Why are you telling us this? It doesn’t change what happened,’ Tara said, wanting this torture to be over.

Olivia’s jaw was set firm. ‘Because that night at the fundraiser, I was angry and I shouldn’t have been. I got it wrong. If only Nick had returned my calls sooner.’

‘Does that mean you spoke to him before he died?’ asked Justine.