‘What they’re up to, my dear, is anarchy. And come the revolution, they’ll be chopping off your head as well as mine.’

‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘Maybe not.’

He gave a thin, mirthless laugh. ‘Imagine they’ll spare you, do you? Well, I wouldn’t be too sure. In case it’s slipped your mind, you’re living in this house too, using its electricity and gas and water, eating the food I put on the table and happily spending my money. And that, my darling daughter, is what is known as collaboration.’

Mona gave a shrug. ‘We’ll see.’ In truth, she wasn’t exactly gripped by the far left either. Although she’d briefly dabbled, she’d found the people tedious and, in their own way, as egotistical as her father. She only feigned an interest in order to wind him up.

As he flicked to the back of the Financial Times and began studying the share prices, Mona’s thoughts drifted away from her father and on to Sadie Wise. They were going to be good friends, the best, she was certain of it. It wasn’t often that you met someone and felt an instant connection. They had understood each other right from the off, creating a bond that could never be broken.

It had been an impulse to jump off the train and follow her out of the station and on to the street. But it had been the right thing to do. Now she knew where Sadie was staying, she could arrange to accidentally bump into her again. They could go for a coffee or a drink in the pub. Maybe she could even help her look for Eddie. Yes, it would be fun, the two of them searching together.

But then Mona frowned. Of course she couldn’t do that. What if someone saw them? It would blow the whole arrangement out of the water. She had to be cautious, careful, to tread softly. Still, there was nothing to stop her from going to Kellston and checking that Sadie was okay. She would just have to keep her distance, that’s all.

Mona’s gaze slipped back towards her father. A tiny smile played around her lips. She felt the usual shudder of revulsion but this evening, at least, her disgust was moderated by the knowledge he would soon be dead.

5

Sadie woke up on Saturday morning, surprised that she had slept so well. The traffic had eased off after midnight and she’d fallen asleep shortly after. She stretched out her arms and yawned. Suddenly the pleasure she felt at being well rested was replaced by a dull feeling of dread as she recalled the arrangement she’d made with Nathan Stone. What had she been thinking? But there was nothing she could do about it now. She couldn’t cancel. She didn’t even have a phone number for him.

Shivering in the cold morning air, she got out of bed and turned on the fire. Then she grabbed a towel and her wash bag before padding along the landing to the shared bathroom. Thankfully it was empty. Her plans for taking a shower, however, were instantly thwarted by the discovery of yet another meter. If she wanted hot water, she was going to have to pay for it.

Sadie muttered a soft curse and trotted back to her room, hoping no one would nip in and take her place while she was gone. Apart from Velma’s and her own, there were two other rooms on this floor but she had no idea if they were occupied or not. From the bowels of the house, she could hear a thin clink of cutlery and the clatter of plates. Breakfast was being served.

The bathroom was still vacant when Sadie got back. She fed the meter and turned on the shower, disappointed but not entirely surprised to find that the flow was hardly torrential. After locking the door, she stripped off and stepped into the water. At least it was hot and she was able to have a proper wash. She’d meant to shower last night – there was something about trains that always made her feel dirty – but hadn’t got around to it. She’d felt so tired that she’d just had a wash and gone to bed.

Once she was scrubbed clean, she dried herself off, brushed her teeth, pulled on her pyjamas and scurried back to her room. Quickly she got dressed, wondering what she was going to wear that night. What did people wear to the dogs? All she’d brought with her were jumpers and jeans and they weren’t going to be suitable. What was it Stone had said? Presentable. Which meant she was going to have to go out and buy something new, an added expense she really didn’t need.

Her stomach gave a rumble, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten last night. She’d intended, despite the no-food rule, to grab a sandwich from the high street and take it back to Oaklands, but in the end she hadn’t bothered. After the meeting with Stone, her appetite had gone.

Downstairs, she made her way to the dining room. It was a dim, rather gloomy room with a lot of dark brown furniture. The wallpaper was brown too. The only other person there was a plump bespectacled middle-aged man. He lifted his eyes from his copy of The Times and gave her a nod. ‘Morning.’

‘Hi,’ she said.

‘Not much of a day,’ he said, glancing towards the windows.

‘No. It looks cold out there.’

There were six square tables in the room but only two of them were set for breakfast. Sadie hesitated, but then chose the empty one. She didn’t want to be rude but she wasn’t in the mood for making small talk either. There was a packet of cornflakes on the table, a jug of milk, a few slices of toast, butter and marmalade. No sooner had she sat down than Mrs Cuthbert appeared.

‘Tea is it?’ she asked.

‘Thank you,’ Sadie said.

Mrs Cuthbert retreated to the kitchen. And then the only noise was the gentle rustle of the man’s newspaper. Sadie poured some cornflakes into a bowl and added milk. As she scooped the cereal into her mouth, she gazed around the room again. There were two long windows, their panes spattered with rain, and a lamp in the corner with a beige tasselled shade. The worn carpet had a swirling pattern of browns and fawns. With little else to occupy her mind she found herself thinking about Eddie. She wondered where he was and what he was doing now. Sleeping off a hangover, probably, if past history was anything to go by. When they’d been together he’d rarely got up before eleven.

A few minutes later, Mrs Cuthbert came back with a stainless-steel pot of tea. She placed it on the table without a word and instantly disappeared again. Sadie finished her cereal, buttered a piece of toast and poured the tea. She was hoping that Velma might come down so she could pick her brains about Nathan Stone. But then again, maybe there were things it was better not to know. She wasn’t looking forward to the evening. It loomed ahead like some terrible ordeal.

Sadie was also feeling bad about not saying anything to Joel as regards the meeting. It wasn’t a big deal, she told herself, and when she’d talked to him on the phone she hadn’t even known about going to the dogs. But would she tell him about the night out? She was aware that she ought to, that in a good relationship there were no secrets, but she also suspected that he wouldn’t be happy about it. She had the feeling that when it was said out loud it would sound much worse than it actually was. Here she was, in Kellston for barely five minutes, and already she was going out with another man. It might be ‘strictly business’ but, no matter how she explained, it would still sound dubious.

‘Eddie,’ she muttered. ‘This is all your damn fault.’

‘I’m sorry?’ the man behind her said.

Sadie turned, smiled and shook her head. ‘Nothing, I was just… It’s nothing.’ She gazed out of the window as she finished her tea. When it became obvious that Velma wasn’t coming, she left the dining room, went back upstairs, collected her jacket and prepared to face the dismal weather.