‘I suppose I get why you wouldn’t want to rake it all up again. And if she’s leaving you alone…’

‘Hmm, well, there you go.’ I mumbled the response into my glass, ignoring a nagging sense of disquiet and deciding not to mention Ruby’s occasional texts.

‘Just the same, a sorry from her would have been nice, wouldn’t it?’ frowned Kerry. ‘I mean, God knows I’ve said and done enough things I regret. But saying sorry, being sorry and trying to put things right – that’s the important thing. I really respect a person who can do that. It can tear a person to pieces sometimes, admitting to themselves and to everyone else that they were in the wrong.’

I nodded, feeling suddenly emotional, as Jason inevitably came to mind.

‘But whatever,’ said Kerry, waving a hand. ‘I’m just sorry about what happened to you and Ron and that you lost a friend.’

‘She wasn’t a friend to me,’ I said quietly. ‘And it’s just weird and a bit pitiful that she thought she was, despite everything she did.’

Kerry smiled sympathetically, hauling her feet off the pouffe and shifting to the edge of the sofa to lean forward and rub my arm. ‘I reckon that for people like her, friendship is all about control and needing to be needed. They’re threatened by the idea that their friend might be able to get along just fine without them, or might want to have other friends. So they try to make that person feel bad about themselves and about other people. But if they can’t be made to see how wrong that is, then we just have to let them get on with it and move away.’

I nodded, unable to fault her uncomplicated wisdom.

‘The only thing is, of course,’ she continued, plumping a cushion and then settling herself back onto the sofa, ‘it’s chuffin’ hard to spot a nutter like that from the off.’

I laughed, in spite of the sombre topic. ‘You’re absolutely—’ I began, only to stop short, as we heard the front door creak open and then click shut, closely followed by the sound of voices and of Anthony skidding on the wooden hallway floor as he rushed from his bed in the kitchen to greet Giles.

I widened my eyes at Kerry.

‘Is Melissa with him?’ she mouthed, hurriedly sitting up and adjusting both her hair and her loungewear.

I nodded excitedly. ‘I think so,’ I whispered, putting a hand over my mouth to prevent a snigger.

A moment later, Giles entered the living room and – no two ways about it – his face fell like a brick down a mineshaft when he saw us sitting there. Kerry clearly spotted the reaction too.

‘Hiya,’ she said cheerily. ‘I just popped in for a glass of wine with Edie, but don’t worry, I’m off now.’

He stared expressionlessly at her. ‘Oh.’