Bryony:In a flat. She has her own place; she laughs about the woman who lives above her, who’s always shouting at her boyfriend.

Marlow:Okay, Bryony, I think we’re done here for now.

Chapter Fifteen

Five weeks before the fire

On Saturday morning Mia’s mother stood at the kitchen sink, her hands plunged into the water as she scrubbed hard on a pan.

‘You’ll wear your fingers away,’ Mia told her.

‘Well, these pans won’t wash themselves, will they?’ her mum answered, feigning brightness in a way she always did when there was something on her mind.

Mia looked at her, hunched over, shoulders taut. She could almost see the cogs inside her mum’s brain working overtime. ‘Here, let me help,’ she said, reaching for the washing-up cloth.

‘No, no.’ Her mum brushed her away. ‘I’m perfectly capable of doing a few dishes. I’m not dead yet.’

‘Mum – don’t talk like that.’

Her mother stopped, shoulders heaving upwards. She rolled her head from side to side, but didn’t speak.

‘Your neck’s hurting again.’ Mia knew what that meant. Her mum had been doing too much, putting too much pressure on herself. It scared Mia to see her like this, because she didn’t know how far her mum would stretch before she broke altogether. ‘And besides, I want to help,’ she muttered, grabbing a tea towel from the side, then picking up a dish from the draining board. ‘You can at least let me dry.’

Her mum gave her a thin smile, before turning back to the pan and plunging it into the soapy water again.

They fell into a silence as they stood side-by-side. Mia looked out to the yard at the back, where a few large tubs took pride of place next to a bistro table covered in rust. They really could do with another set, but there wasn’t enough money left that month.

‘Maybe we could go out this afternoon,’ Mia suggested. ‘Do you fancy a pub lunch?’

‘That would be lovely.’ Her mum nodded enthusiastically, but she wasn’t smiling. ‘Yes. That does sound nice. But I don’t think … I don’t know if Jess will come.’

‘I’ll ask her,’ Mia said.

‘Yes …’

Mia clocked the pause, the deep intake of breath. They both knew that her older sister wouldn’t want to go anywhere, but it didn’t mean they would ever stop trying to persuade her to.

Time had softened their mother. She’d once been so determined, so unprepared for a fuss, yet now she was more than willing to cave in to Jess, not to push her. Mia knew this was possibly the worst thing she could be doing for her sister, but at the same time she couldn’t blame her mum. With her ailing health, Jess was too much for her to cope with.