is out of the question, of course—there’s one camera that we know of, but I’m fairly sure there’ll be others.
Because they’re not really for checking on the nanny, I’ve realized. Or not only that.
They’re for checking on her.
To make sure she’s carrying out his instructions. Coaching Theo, for example—that almost certainly came from Miles. But even when he hasn’t given her a specific task to do, just knowing he might be watching—storing up his criticisms for his return each evening—would be enough to undermine anyone’s self-confidence.
He’s been controlling her from the day they married. I’m sure of it. And now it’s time to see if I’m right.
So we wait for Lucy to leave the house, and eventually she does. She’s still on crutches, but she manages to get to the newsagent around the corner, and that’s where I tap her on the shoulder.
Despite the crutches, she jumps.
“Oh! Maddie,” she says, recovering. “And Pete, too. How nice to see you. Is Theo with you?”
I shake my head. “With a friend. Can we get a coffee?”
“A coffee?” she repeats anxiously. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Not just at the moment. Miles…” Her voice trails off.
“Miles won’t know. And we need to talk,” I say firmly. “There’s a café right next door.” I look her in the eye. “You see, we know it was you who sent that footage to the CAFCASS adviser.”
* * *
—
SHE DOESN’T ADMIT IT. But she does allow herself to be taken to the café, where we find an empty table among all the young mummies with their buggies and lattes.
“I contacted Tania,” I tell her. “At first I thought it must have been her who sent it. So this morning I messaged her. She told me she’d had nothing to do with it. I’d already had my suspicions, but that’s when everything fell into place.”
“But why would it be me?” Lucy’s hand has gone to her collar to tug out her pearls. “Of course I wouldn’t do a thing like that. That day was horrible for me, absolutely horrible. Miles said I was lucky not to be charged with contempt of court.”
“But that was a risk you were prepared to take, wasn’t it?” I reach across the table for her free hand, but she flinches away at the movement. “As for why you did it, that’s simple. You did it to protect Theo. You did it because you wanted to lose.”
* * *
—
THERE’S A LONG SILENCE. Lucy sits absolutely still, her eyes wide. “You can’t prove that,” she whispers.
“I don’t need to,” I say gently. “Don’t you see—I’m not accusing you of anything except loving your son. And wanting him to grow up in the best place possible. With the best father.” I indicate Pete, sitting quietly beside us. “Not Miles. Everyone at this table knows what Miles is, Lucy. You wanted Theo brought up by Pete and me. So he’d be safe.”
Her silence tells me I’m right.
“After all,” I add, “it’s not the first time, is it? You’ve done it before. You did it two years ago, when you swapped them in the hospital.”
109
MADDIE
SHE CRIES THEN. BUT it seems to me they’re tears of relief, at least partly. Relief she has someone to share the secret with at last.
“You must think I’m so stupid,” she says, drying her eyes on a paper napkin from the jam jar on the table. “Not to have realized before I married him that he has a…that he can be quite demanding. But it was all so quick, you see, and I was head-over-heels in love.”
She describes those early days to us, and it’s almost exactly what Annette predicted. The love-bombing that swept her off her feet—showering her with attention, with compliments, with charm. The proposal of marriage that came within weeks; the wedding that took place within months; the pregnancy that started soon after. The private maternity hospital, because nothing was too good for their child. And then the shock of premature birth—going into labor at twenty-nine weeks, as she did Pilates one morning.
“The obstetrician diagnosed something called cervical incompetence. It was rather unfortunate it was called that, actually. Because it made it clear that even the doctors thought it was my fault. I mean, not deliberately, nobody accused me of that. But it was my body that had been so useless. And there was absolutely nothing that could be done—the baby was on its way, and it couldn’t go back in. And Miles…” She hesitates,