‘I think the best thing to do is just lie low for a while,’ I said to Bram now. ‘Things will blow over. In the meantime, I’ll get to work on the exhibition. I’m hoping I can get Jeanette Hall to help us coordinate a small display of artworks connecting Anna and Catharina together.’ Liam’s absence would create a hole in the exhibition that I hoped Jeanette’s scholarship could fill.

‘You still think the dress belongs to the maid?’ Bram said.

‘I believe so,’ I told him. ‘There are still a few clues to follow up. I’d like to confirm exactly how the dress ended up here, for instance, and Anna’s reasons for leaving Sterrenwijck.’

‘Well, I can’t complain about the business side of things,’ Bram said. ‘This is the busiest night we’ve had in ages! Everybody wants to speak to us, everybody is desperate to know everything about the dress and our ‘amazing discovery’. It’s so loud, I can hardly hear myself think. Call you tomorrow?’

‘Sure.’

He hung up. I continued to sit with my face cradled in my hands. I felt worn down to my very core. When my stomach gurgled loudly, I remembered that in all the excitement and drama, I’d forgotten to eat.

‘Can I get you anything?’ Gerrit said gently, leaning against the kitchen doorframe. I could make out Marieke’s profile in the lounge room behind him, her sharp profile illuminated by the glow of a lamp. ‘A cup of tea? Water?’

I shook my head. Marieke cleared her throat.

‘Do you have any mugwort?’ she called out. ‘Any sandalwood? Herbs?’

Gerrit blinked at her, astonished.

‘It’s to clear the air,’ she explained, rising off the couch and slipping into the doorway beside him. ‘Wards off negative energy. This Liam fellow is like a bad stain. I can feel his terrible influence all over you, Jo.’

Gerrit bit his lip. ‘I think I might have some dried lavender back at the house. Should I go get it?’

‘Would you?’ Marieke smiled at him sweetly.

When he was gone, she fussed around the lounge room, poking through cupboards, ostensibly searching for bedding.

‘What am I going to do?’ I murmured, more to myself than to her. She came over to stand beside me, a pillow over one arm.

‘I know you, Josefeine Baaker, you’ll pick yourself up and show this Liam character exactly what you’re made of. You’ll just have to present your own side of the story in the most compelling way you can. You have the contacts, I know you do. Haven’t you told me often enough? And you know Bram and the divers better than anyone. If anybody can do it, you can.’

She gripped my arm tightly and after a long moment, I folded my hand over hers.

‘I’m glad you’re here.’