‘Charming!’ It was a moment that defused the hurt she felt that people talked about her here too. The very thing she had been trying to escape – the thought was sobering. ‘What do they say?’ Her voice was quiet, as if she didn’t really want to know the answer.

‘Nothing bad, nothing nasty; you’re well liked. Everyone says you’re sweet, friendly, hardworking, reliable, it’s all good, Merrin, but that you seem a bit . . .’

‘A bit what?’ she pushed, as a lump grew in her throat.

‘As you said earlier – sad, I guess.’

She nodded. Her head spun from too much booze and she hoped she wasn’t going to be sick.

‘There’s a lady where I live, where I used to live, where I’m from in Cornwall.’ She was gabbling a little. ‘She’s called Lizzie Lick.’

‘Is that a common surname? Mr and Mrs Lick!’ he called out, as if announcing them. His humour was like a balm; it lifted the moment.

‘No. It’s cruel, really. That’s the name everyone has given her; I don’t know why. I used to hide from her when I was a little girl; she has long, unbrushed hair and wide eyes.’

The two paused in Castle Street and Merrin rested on the porch of Epworth House, leaning on the oak beams as if she lived there. ‘I remember seeing her coming towards me on the beach one winter morning. She was staring. I had my wellingtons on and we were collecting shells. I ran to my mum and gripped her hand and she bent down and whispered to me, “You don’t need to be afraid of Liz, she’s just sad. She won’t hurt you. She’s never hurt anyone.” I wanted to know why she was sad and my mum told me that it was because the person she loved most in the whole wide world died and it was like Lizzie had fallen to the floor and couldn’t get up again.’ She looked up at Miguel, who didn’t have a quip, but stared at her, as if taking in her words. ‘I asked if it was her mummy that died? Because I loved my mum most in the whole wide world and I couldn’t begin to imagine the loss of her.’ She gripped the post as her legs swayed a little. ‘But she told me it was her daughter she’d lost. It was the first time I understood that you didn’t have to be a grown-up to die. I’ve never forgotten it.’

‘No wonder Lizzie Lick is sad and doesn’t brush her hair.’ Miguel took her hand and prised her from the post, tucking her arm into the crook of his for the walk home. It felt nice to have human contact. She’d missed it.