But Heather wasn’t done. ‘This world is full of strangers who couldn’t give a rat’s arse about your health and happiness, and you can count on one hand the number of people who’ve got your back. We are Kellows; we stick together! We help each other. I will not allow you to fight, not today, not any day. It’s selfish and an indulgence you can’t be afforded. Do you understand me, both of you?’ She looked from one to the other, her words flat and direct, but her meaning razor sharp.

‘Yes, Mum,’ Merrin offered first, admonished like a child and awash with the shame that came with it.

‘Sorry, Mum,’ Ruby seconded.

Heather pulled her shawl around her shoulders and stared at the fire. Her hair was matted and stuck up at the back of her head, her skin had taken on a greyish hue and she had lost so much weight in the shortest time.

‘I’ve lost Ben.’ Her tears fell silently and she did nothing to remove them, as if it were her normal state. ‘And you’ve lost your dad. And my whole world is torn apart. I feel . . .’ She struggled to find the words. ‘I feel as if I’m hanging on by a single thread. One single thread, and I don’t mind admitting that it wouldn’t take much for me to snip it and fall.’ She let this sink in. ‘In fact, over the last few days, that thought has been attractive.’

Ruby whimpered and Merrin followed; it was a thought too hard to bear.

‘I’m sorry, Mum.’ Ruby spoke through her tears.

‘You don’t have to say sorry to me.’ Heather slowly levered herself into a standing position, making her way across the room, reaching for pieces of furniture as if they were handrails as she headed back to the stairs and the comfort of her bed. ‘You have to say sorry to your sister.’

‘I’m going home.’ Ruby grabbed her jacket from the dining table and slipped her arms into it.

‘Don’t go home, Rubes.’ Bella said the words Merrin had been considering.

‘I’m knackered.’ Ruby rubbed her lower back. ‘I’ll see you girls tomorrow.’

‘We love you!’ Bella called from the stove as the front door closed and Ruby walked out into the driving rain.

Despite her fatigue, Merrin knew she wouldn’t sleep well tonight. Not now. Instead, she would lie awake, trying to digest the words that filled her throat, their taste bitter and their effect poisonous. The little parlour was usually a haven, but now, with the echo of their fight still bouncing off the walls, it had never felt so small.

‘She didn’t mean it.’ Bella did what she did best and tried to stitch the tear back together.