‘Um … yes, thank you. I’ll definitely think about it.’ I smile weakly and place Mina’s hand on the pram, eager to get away, but it’s not the proximity of the toddler group that has me feeling shaken. The blanket. The blue, handmade blanket that covered Tara’s baby in the pushchair looks unnervingly like the one that lay on the bed in the darkened bedroom in my dream.

Chapter Three

‘I’ve found something,’ I say the moment Rav walks through the door. Mina is already fed, bathed and tucked up in bed, Rav failing to come through on his promise to be home in time to help out.

‘What?’ He sounds tired and distracted, as he shrugs off his jacket and lays his briefcase on the table.

‘Up in the attic. Remember I said I was going to go up and sort the boxes out? Well, I found something.’ Ignoring the frown on his face, I feel a little buzz of excitement at the thought of the mirror. ‘Come on, I want to show you.’ I reach for his hand, but he pulls back.

‘Can’t it wait? I’ve only just walked in the door, Al, I’m shattered.’

‘Oh. I suppose so.’ I deflate like a popped balloon. ‘I did want to show you before the light goes but I guess it can wait until the weekend.’

Rav pauses, his hand on the knot of his tie. ‘What is it?’

‘I’d rather show you,’ I say, and this time when I reach for his hand, he lets me take it. I lead him upstairs to the landing and stop under the loft hatch. ‘You might want to change out of that suit.’

Rav sighs, but his eyes go to the hatch, and I know he won’t argue. ‘OK. I’ll change, you go on up.’

I pull down the ladder as quietly as I can, aware that Mina is sleeping in the room next to mine, that the baby is tucked up in the cot in my bedroom. A waft of warm, musty air hits my face and I cough discreetly into my elbow before climbing the ladder, pulling myself up into the dusty space. The light is different in here now, later on in the day. The small round window at the front of the house lets the sun in in the morning, and when I came up earlier there was a shaft of sunlight beaming in, lighting the attic. Now, the sun has disappeared over the other side of the house and although the air is stiflingly warm, the attic is shrouded in shadows. I shiver, despite the heat, scrubbing my hands over my arms.

‘What it is that you’ve found then?’ Rav’s voice in my ear makes me jump and I press my hand to my mouth.

‘Bloody hell, Rav, you made me jump.’