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‘But you knew? You’d heard, and yet chose not to tell me anything.’

Wendy unfolded her arms. For what felt like the first time since they had picked her up, she looked Holly in the eye, rather than at the cut on her forehead.

‘It wasn’t that simple, dear. I heard some village gossip. What was I meant to say? That a woman in the supermarket was telling a cashier that she heard the old woman from the sweet shop was sick? I didn’t know if that was Maud. Besides, I knew if it was true, she’d tell you. Which I assumed she did. I’m sorry, love. How bad is it?’

‘It’s bad. She came to Bourton to say her goodbyes.’

‘Oh, darling. I’m so sorry. If there’s anything?—’

Holly lifted her hand in the air, stopping her mother from carrying on. She shook her head. She didn’t want to get into Maud. If she was thinking about Maud, she wouldn’t be able to think rationally about the next part of the conversation. And this needed all the strength she had got.

She picked up her glass, moved to take a sip, then remembered she shouldn’t be drinking and took a long breath of the aroma instead. That was going to have to do.

‘That’s not the only reason I wanted to talk to you,’ Holly said, placing the glass back down on the table. ‘I wanted to know when you were going to tell me that Giles Caverty is my landlord.’

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Holly could feel her heart all the way up in her chest. She had thought over what Evan had said to her the night before, about confronting Giles before speaking to her mother. And while it made sense on one hand, who knew when she’d next be able to physically see Giles? Just like with her mother, it wasn’t the type of conversation she wanted to have on the phone, but the way he flitted in and out of the country, she might well have to wait months before he was back in the Cotswolds and free to speak. And there was no way she could go that long without confronting her mother. So she had made the decision that it was the sooner, the better. However, as her mum sat there clutching the stem of her wineglass, Holly wondered if she’d made a mistake.

For a full minute, neither of them spoke. Wendy’s eyes remained wide in disbelief as she stared at Holly, while Holly raised her eyebrows ever so slightly, showing she wouldn’t say anything until her mother admitted the truth. Finally, her mother’s throat crackled, emitting a strange sound somewhere between a gurgle and a gasp, before she finally said anything intelligible.

‘Did he tell you? I didn’t think he was going to tell you.’

Holly’s back teeth clenched again. She took a deep inhale, followed by a long exhale, as she tried to breathe some of the tension away.

‘I’m not talking about Giles right now, Mum. I will deal with him. I will get to him. What I want to know is about you. Why didn’t you tell me?’

This time, her mother picked the wineglass up and lifted it all the way to her mouth. Never could Holly remember seeing her take such a large gulp before and for a second, she was worried she was going to polish off the entire drink. While her mother didn’t down the entire thing, the glass was a good third emptier when she placed it back down on the table.

‘Well?’ Holly pressed. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘What do you mean,why didn’t I tell you?’ Her tone was as exasperated as Holly’s. ‘How could I have told you?’

‘How could you not?’ Holly could hardly believe her mother was being this stubborn. And once again, her mother’s arms were folded across her chest.

‘Would you have rented the house had you known he was the landlord?’

‘Probably not.’

‘Exactly.’ A look of satisfaction crossed her mother’s face, but Holly wasn’t having it.

‘That’s not an excuse, Mum. I had a right to know. Do you not understand how it makes me feel, knowing you kept this from me? Not to mention all those lies you made up about a friend of your neighbours.’

Wendy let out a short huff. ‘What was I meant to say? That I bumped into him at Tesco when I was with Hope, and he asked how you were doing?’

The comment caught Holly by surprise, enough for her to catch her breath.

‘You saw him when you were with her? With Hope?’

Her chest tightened, causing a lump to force its way up her throat. Holly wasn’t sure why this piece of information upset her so much. After all, the last time she and Giles had spoken, he’d mentioned wanting to meet Hope. And she’d been happy for that. She wanted him to see Hope again, given that the only other time they’d met had been inside the hospital ward when she’d just given birth. But she’d wanted him to meet Hope on her terms. With her there. Not in a supermarket where he could plot with her mother.

‘Holly, dear.’ Her mother’s voice softened for the first time since she’d picked her up from the station. Wendy reached out a hand to Holly, but Holly didn’t take it. ‘It was a coincidence, that’s all, love. And Hope was fast asleep in her pushchair. I doubt he could even see more than her nose.’

Holly tried to envision the scene. In her mother’s defence, Holly had bumped into Giles herself at the same supermarket. That was how the two of them had rekindled their friendship. Even so, she needed to know more.

‘Tell me,’ she said, punctuating her words clearly. ‘Tell me exactly what happened. What he said. What you said. How I ended up with the cottage. I want to know it all.’

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