‘And who are you?’ she asked, her voice small and gravelly.

James stood. ‘I’m Detective Inspector Walker of the Cumbria Constabulary. Your parents were just telling me about Rachel. While the search for her is continuing I’m trying to find out what led her down to the jetty earlier and whether she was with anyone.’

‘Well, it’s a mystery to me,’ she replied. ‘I just can’t help thinking that something horrible has happened to her. And if she did fall into the lake then we might not see her again.’

She stood in the middle of the room, her eyes puffy from crying, and James could see the emotions chasing across her face: shock, confusion, uncertainty.

She started to blink back more tears so he invited her to take his place on the sofa next to Claire. As soon as she sat down her former nanny placed an arm around her shoulders, but that didn’t stop the tears from flowing.

‘I really do feel for you and your family, Mrs Murphy,’ James said. ‘What you’re all going through is truly horrendous, but I want you to know that we’re doing everything we can to find Rachel. And at this stage we shouldn’t assume she’s in the lake.’

‘Then where else would she be?’ Libby said as she looked up at him with pleading eyes. ‘Surely she would have turned up by now if she’s okay. And if she’s still in the hotel somebody must have seen her since the place is full to bursting.’

‘I understand you had a conversation with her at the bar after the marriage ceremony,’ James said.

She nodded. ‘It was obvious to everyone that she was taking a bit too much advantage of the open bar, probably because she was nervous. She was supposed to make a speech at the meal – one I wrote for her – but she would have been in no fit state if she’d continued drinking. I felt I had to intervene.’

‘What did you say to her?’

‘I hadn’t seen her for a while because as soon as the formal photos were taken in the garden, she said she had to go up to her room to get something. It was Greg who spotted her at the bar and he wasn’t happy. He told me to have a word with her. But as soon as I approached her, I sensed that she was upset over something because her eyes were red and it looked as though she’d been crying. I asked her what was wrong and she told me to mind my own business. Then I asked her to hold off on the booze until the evening do and she told me to leave her alone and stormed off. I didn’t follow because I knew that if I did, she’d create a scene. I just hoped she’d go off somewhere to cool off and then show up in the hall. But now I can’t help but feel guilty for not staying with her.’