Lily focuses on her brother’s face. Harry crouches beside her to undo the padlock, then puts his arm around her shoulders.
‘Are you okay?’ He scans her face for signs of injury.
‘Don’t let them take me to hospital.’ She reaches for his hand. ‘I know you didn’t hurt anyone.’
He shakes his head. ‘I couldn’t tell who was driving the car by Pulpit Rock, the night Sabine died. I only found out it belonged to Jeff’s wife when I broke into his garage, looking for a place to hide. The garden’s so overgrown the building’s almost hidden.’
‘So you followed him here. You saved my life, Harry.’
‘I should have worked it out sooner. What did those bastards do to you?’
‘They scared me, that’s all.’
The boy is crying tears that should have been released long ago. Pride has forced him to suppress his misery until now. When Lily puts her arms around him, time slips backwards. He’s the brother she used to adore, brave enough to scare the bullies away when he walked her back from school.
‘Take me home,’ she whispers.
Exhaustion topples her at last. Harry lifts her from her seat after her eyes close, with another woman’s wedding gown trailing along the ground. Lily is fast asleep when he carries her upstairs, into the light.