“How can you be so calm?” I ask her, rage rising inside me. “How can you stand this?”

She shrugs again, that shrug of world-weary resignation. “It is not a surprise to me. I knew that my relationship with Leo would come to an end; it was only a question of when.”

“Because you didn’t love him?” I say, thinking back to her detachment around Leo, her refusal to discuss a date for the wedding.

Filomena gives me a look full of pity. “Because he didn’t love me,” she says quietly. “Only the idea of me, for a while.”

I understand, then, what has been just out of sight for me this summer, the thing that wouldn’t sit smoothly. I thought Filomena’s feelings were not as strong as my uncle’s. Now, I realize, she was simply bracing herself for this moment.

“He is not a bad man, Bea,” she continues, taking my hand and setting her rows of gold bracelets jangling. “But he is weak. He allows himself to be swayed by others. He embraces what he admires. For him, I think I was a… What do you say? A novelty. We were happy together, for a time, very happy, and that must be enough.”

“That’s not enough,” I whisper. In that instant I see my uncle for what he is: a weak-willed man, easily led, afraid of confrontation. Not bad, not wicked, but foolish.

“Listen, Bea,” Filomena says, “before you go, please listen to me.”

I lift my eyes, meeting her steady gaze. She reaches out and presses my hand between her own. “I meant what I said to Ben. I will go with Hugh, but on my own terms. I am not afraid to be alone, because I know that I am strong. I know what I want; my art is what drives me, what gives my life purpose. It is art which I prioritize above everything else – not a man.” Her voice is low – hypnotic, almost – and I feel her words in my bones. “You are so strong, Bea,” she says. “You have so much in you, such joy, such a gift for life. Your drive and your intelligence should not be squandered in isolation. Go into the world and make your mark on it. You are brilliant. Do not let anyone make you feel less than that. Not your parents, not anyone.”

For a moment it is as if I had been struck. My ears ring and I feel dizzy.

As Filomena’s words settle, I realize that they are only confirming a decision I have already made. I can’t go back to my life as it was. I can’t moulder away, dragged down by the estate and its problems.