This wasn’t like Faith. She prided herself in being in control of her own destiny. When she had married Derek, it had been on her terms, and following his death, she had quickly adapted to the new turn her life had taken. It was what she did, and it was what she would do again – because of her finances, because of the uncertainty of her job, because change was necessary. Nick could alleviate some of her stress points, if only temporarily, but didn’t that smack of desperation? Could this crisis of April’s be a blessing in disguise?

‘Unless you have alternative plans, I could ring you as soon as I know what’s happening,’ Faith said, postponing any decision she might want to make.

‘I’ll take a maybe rather than an outright no,’ said Nick.

Pleased to have left him dangling, Faith ended the call and focused on April. She sped past the village hall and slowed slightly as she turned the corner at the war memorial. She was about to accelerate past Ivy Farm Court when she spied light coming from the back of Tara’s shop.

Faith hadn’t spoken to Tara, but she had sent a large John Lewis hamper on the day of the house move and they had swapped messages. Tara had been more concerned about April than the stresses of moving and Faith had promised she would look after her.

Presuming that Tara was working overtime to catch up with orders, Faith drove on. She could handle this on her own, and within a couple of minutes she was driving into Pickering’s Pasture and past the sign warning visitors that the gates would be locked at 7 p.m. It was ten past six. If Faith could help April bring her emotions under control in the next fifty minutes, there would be time to retrieve her plans with Nick.

As Faith’s headlights swept across the deserted car park, she could hear a horn blaring above the thrum of rain on the windshield. Guided by its continuous wail, she scanned the area more closely and spotted April’s car tucked away in a far corner. Pulling up alongside, she peered through the Corsa’s steamed-up windows and spotted a ghost-like form bent over the steering wheel.

Faith flung open the Range Rover’s door and pulled up the hood of her rain jacket. It took only a few seconds to climb into April’s car, but Faith’s jacket was sodden by the time she closed the door.

‘Can’t you turn that thing off?’ Faith shouted above the ear-splitting shriek of the horn.

April lifted up her hands. ‘It’s not me. I was hitting the steering wheel with my fists and now it won’t stop.’

‘Fuck,’ Faith muttered under her breath. It was one more complication she could do without. ‘How do you lift the bonnet?’