Without a key for the kitchen doors, she had to walk around and let herself into the house through the front door. By the time she reached it, her hands were tight fists at her sides. She had decided it was perhaps time to visit Peter’s wife, let him know she could be threatening too. As she opened the front door, she could hear voices coming from somewhere in the house. Helen pushed the door closed very quietly, stopped at the bottom of the staircase and strained to hear.

One of the voices was Lydia’s, high and distressed.

“I have to tell her.”

“No, you don’t. You can use this to your advantage. She deserves everything she gets.”

“But Dad…”

“Oh come on, do you really think it would upset him that much? He probably knows already anyway. I thought you wanted her gone? This is how you do it.”

The other voice sounded like Diana – but it couldn’t be, surely.

Helen stepped closer to the door. The floorboard under her foot creaked loudly.

“Is someone here?” Diana asked.

“No, I don’t think so. It must be Clive.”

“I’m going to check.”

Helen rushed into the kitchen and looked around frantically for somewhere to hide. The cupboard she had hidden in from Peter was in the far corner. She pushed herself inside and pulled the door almost closed behind her before rearranging some of the hanging aprons over herself. Through the crack in the door she could see most of the kitchen. The pungent smell of spices was heady and overpowering in the small space. She could feel them tickling her nose, threatening to make her sneeze. She screwed her eyes up tight to stave off the sneeze. Her heart hammered loudly in her throat.

Just when she thought she had gotten away with it, that no one would come looking, she heard footsteps and saw Diana step into the kitchen and look around. She nipped her itchy nose and held her breath, praying Diana wouldn’t think to look in the pantry. What would Helen say if she did though? No lie could explain why she was crouched in a cupboard, holding her nose against the spices and hiding behind some dirty aprons with a mop handle poking in her back.

But Diana didn’t come any closer. Instead, Lydia came up behind her and Helen saw Diana turn and reach out to touch Lydia’s face. Lydia smiled beautifully and they kissed – long, deep, passionately – before leaving again.

Helen held her breath as long as she could, then crept out of the pantry, headed straight over to the French doors and quietly let herself into the garden. She breathed in deeply, shock making her pulse race. As she stepped outside, she heard footsteps behind her and spun around ready to defend herself, but it was Clive sloping towards her, his bum wiggling in excitement.