“How did your shopping trip go?” Dawn asked Camilla as they sat down to Sunday lunch at their mother’s the next day.

“It was fairly successful.” Camilla dropped a scoop of mashed potatoes onto her plate then handed the bowl to Dawn’s husband, Rick. “I still need to get a few things before the big day…” She glanced at her sister’s children, Laura and James, and found them both staring at her, eyes wide.

“You went Christmas shopping, Auntie Camilla?” Laura asked.

“I did. In London where all the best shops are.”

“What did you buy?”

“I can’t tell you because some of it’s for you and James.”

“Awwwww!” James pouted. “Whisper it!”

“Uh uh.” Camilla shook her head.

“Kids leave your Auntie Camilla alone.” Rick dropped a scoop of mash onto Laura’s plate then one on James’s before passing the bowl to his wife.

“Anyone fancy a glass of wine with dinner?” Jackie waltzed into the dining room with a bottle of Chablis in her hand.

“That would be lovely, Mum.” Camilla got up and fetched the wine glasses from the dresser.

“Not for me.” Dawn grimaced as she pointed at her bump. “Not for about another thirteen weeks.”

“You could have a drop, Dawnie,” Camilla said as she took the bottle from her mother and filled three glasses.

“The heartburn is already so bad that I wouldn’t want to risk it.” Dawn replied as she raised her glass of water. “But cheers anyway. You three enjoy.”

They tucked into Jackie’s roast chicken dinner as The Carpenters’ Greatest Hits flowed into the room from the speakers on top of the dresser. Camilla looked around the table at her family. Jackie looked good for sixty-five with her short black hair and bright green eyes, but there was always something in her mother’s gaze that made Camilla sad. It was, she knew, because Jackie had never got over her husband leaving her when the girls were young and she’d never been able to move on. In fact, she was rather vocal about it a lot of the time and it had affected Camilla growing up, as had the fact that her father had walked out on them, of course. She’d veered on the side of caution, never wanting to commit to a man, while Dawn had been almost desperate to create a stable family of her own where she could be the perfect wife and mother.

Over the past year, Dawn and Rick had been through some ups and downs, and Camilla had been quite worried for a while there, especially when Dawn had admitted that she was pregnant with her third child and that the baby hadn’t been planned. But during the autumn, her sister and brother-in-law had managed to work through their problems and were now happier than ever. Which pleased Camilla immensely, as she wanted nothing more than to see her sister, her niece and nephew happy and settled. And Rick too for that matter. He was a good man and he clearly loved Dawn. He’d left his high-flying job in the City recently and the flexibility of working from home suited him. He looked healthier and more contented than ever.

As for Laura and James, they physically – in Camilla’s eyes, at least – were a mixture of their parents, but their mannerisms and idiosyncrasies often reminded her of Dawn as a child. The children were happy and funny and a joy to be around. Camilla enjoyed spending time with them, especially on Sunday afternoons after lunch, when she could curl up on the sofa with them and listen to them talk about their week. Laura often entertained her with stories about their guinea pig, Wallace, and her babies, as well as tales of Lulu the rabbit and how she was adapting to being an auntie to the small guinea pigs. Camilla knew that Dawn had tried to gently persuade the children to consider giving the baby guinea pigs away, but Laura and James had been stubborn, and Rick had suggested keeping them because – as he’d said – he was home now so could help to care for them. This had led to them buying extra hutches for their garden and to Rick and his father, Paul Beaumont, erecting a larger shed in the back garden where the animals could live during the winter months. The shed resembled a Canadian log cabin and Camilla quite fancied staying in it herself.

As for Camilla’s life, she lived alone in a small cottage on the outskirts of Heatherlea, that was a five-minute walk from Jackie’s and, in the other direction, from Dawn’s. Her family members were close enough that she could get to them with ease but far enough away to allow her some space. Although recently, even though she still kept busy running her accountancy business, with regular meetings with clients and trips into London, she’d begun to feel that something might be missing. Coming home to an empty cottage, however pretty and cosy it might be, wasn’t as much fun as it had once been. She suspected it just had something to do with the dark nights and mornings that came with winter and that as soon as spring made an appearance; she’d feel more positive again.

“More wine, Camilla?” Jackie held up the bottle.

“No thanks, Mum. I haven’t drunk this glass yet.”

Camilla took a sip of the Chablis and enjoyed its honeyed-stone fruit flavour balanced with a pleasant minerality.

“Rick?” Jackie held up the bottle.

“Just half a glass, thank you. I’ve promised Laura and James a kick around later, once dinner goes down.”

Jackie poured wine into his glass then filled her own. Camilla swallowed her surprise as her mother knocked back her drink then refilled her glass again. She was about to make a joke of it when Jackie raised shiny eyes to meet Camilla’s. Now might not be the best time to raise the topic, even in jest. Her mother had never had an alcohol problem, but perhaps she had had a tough week and was just letting her hair down. After all, she rarely went out and still worked hard on her cleaning rounds, so she deserved to relax over Sunday lunch with her family.

“We made a trip to the vet yesterday.” Dawn speared a piece of broccoli with her fork then raised it to her mouth but kept her eyes on her plate.

“You did?” Camilla ran a hand through her hair. “What for?”

“Poor Lulu was limping. At least Mummy said she was but I thought she looked fine,” James said. “Mummy was worried she’d broken her leg.”

“How would she have managed to do that?” Jackie asked.

Dawn shrugged. “Hopping around.”

Camilla turned her gaze to Rick and noticed that his cheeks were slightly flushed.

“Hopping around? What she suddenly hopped a bit too hard?” Camilla stared at her sister.

“She wasn’t herself and I thought she was reluctant to put weight on her back right leg, so we decided a trip to see the vet might be best. Just to be sure.”

“Of course. And what did Tom… I mean, the vet, say?”

“Nothing wrong with her that he could see. He suggested keeping a close eye on her over the weekend and that if I see her limping again, to take her back on Monday and he’ll consider doing an x-ray.”

“So you basically bothered the poor man on a Saturday for nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing,” Dawn replied. “It could have been something and after what happened to Wallace—” She bit her lip and glanced at her children. “I mean… you know…” Dawn’s cheeks glowed and Camilla had to take a gulp of wine to stop herself smiling.

“What Dawn means, is after we found out that Wallace was a girl, when all that time we’d believed she was a boy…” Rick leapt in to rescue his wife then stared meaningfully at Camilla. “We don’t want to take any chances with their health.”

Camilla nodded. She knew that Dawn had almost slipped up about how they’d lost their first guinea pig suddenly then Allie and Chris had rushed to find a replacement, but the replacement had turned out to be a pregnant female.

“Anyway…” Dawn sipped her water. “Doctor Stone… or is it Mr Stone… I’m never sure with vets… seems very nice. Wasn’t he nice, Rick?”

“He was indeed. Seems like a decent enough sort.”

Rick and Dawn smiled at Camilla and she wriggled in her chair.

“Well that’s great. I’m really happy for you both. And I hope that poor Lulu will be okay.”

“I’m sure she will.”

“Can we have dessert now, please?” James asked.

“Of course, darling.” Jackie drained her glass then pushed her chair back. She reached for the gravy jug but it slipped from her grasp and clattered onto her plate, sending gravy and bits of roast potato everywhere.

Laura gasped. “Uh oh… Look what you did.”

Jackie pursed her lips. “Ooops! Butterfingers. Nothing that won’t clean up.”

She picked up her plate and kept one hand on top of the gravy jug to stop it sliding off then lifted her chin and left the dining room.

Camilla met Dawn’s eyes and mouthed What’s going on?

Dawn shook her head.

“I’ll go and give Mum a hand.” Camilla stood up and took some of the plates through to the kitchen. She found Jackie standing in front of the sink, gazing out at the garden.

“Everything okay, Mum?” She put the dirty plates on the worktop then rubbed her mother’s shoulders.

“What?” Jackie turned to her. “Oh… yes, Camilla, everything’s fine.”

“Are you sure? You’ve been a bit distracted today.”

“I’m fine, darling.” Jackie went to the fridge. “I made a simple trifle for dessert. I hope that’s okay.”

“Trifle is lovely.”

Jackie nodded then placed the familiar cut glass bowl that she always used for trifles on the worktop and opened a drawer to find a serving spoon.

“It’s just… I had an email you see.”

Camilla frowned. Hadn’t they just been talking about trifle?

“An email?”

“Yes, darling. This morning. I opened my emails to check when my Amazon order was coming and… ooh, do you know, I forgot to check if the full order had been despatched. I ordered the loveliest pyjamas for the children and for Dawn I ordered a pair of those stretchy jeans with the panel for her tummy. She is getting quite big now isn’t she?” Jackie smiled. “Ah… a new grandchild on the way. Just delightful.”

“Mum? You’re worrying me now. Can you tell me what the email said?”

“Email?” Jackie’s green eyes flickered. “Oh, yes! It said—”

The doorbell rang, its tinny rendition of The White Stripes My Doorbell echoing through the house. Rick had bought it for Jackie for her birthday, telling her it made her a trendy grandmother.

“Saved by the bell!” Jackie grinned then strode out of the kitchen and through the hallway.

Camilla held her breath to listen. It was rare that people called round on Sundays, especially to her mother’s house. It was probably someone collecting for a charity or a client of her mother’s come to pay for a recent cleaning job.

She went to the sink and squirted lemon washing up liquid into the bowl then turned the hot tap on. She wrinkled her nose as the steam sent the fake citrus smell into the air. She heard the front door close again. Presumably, her mother had dealt with their visitor quickly and efficiently, as was Jackie’s way. Sometimes she could be eye-wateringly abrupt, and had made Camilla and Dawn cringe on more than one occasion.

“Who was it, Mum?” Camilla asked as footsteps entered the kitchen behind her.

“Someone you may or may not be pleased to see.” Jackie said.

Camilla turned around slowly, wondering why her mother had invited someone inside when they were about to have dessert.

Her mouth fell open.

Her heart flipped.

And she blurted, “What the hell are you doing here?”