We found Zack outside, on his phone, which he put away when he saw Miranda.
‘Has my dad visited this house since we were here last summer?’ she demanded.
He glanced up towards the top floor, like he was concerned Charles and Jasmine might overhear.
‘I don’t think so. Why?’
‘Because someone has taken down all the photos of our mum.’
‘Oh. Yeah.’
‘Youknew?’
‘I was going to tell you. Charles asked Morag to take them all down. They’re in a drawer in the kitchen.’
I thought Miranda might hit him. Instead, she turned and marched to the kitchen, opening drawers until she found the framed photos, which she laid out on the table.
At the centre was the portrait of Elizabeth that Holly had mentioned, taken when she was thirty-four. The hair was slightly different, and she was a shade paler, being Scottish rather than from the Sunshine State. But it was undeniable. This could have been a photo of Jasmine.
‘Bloody hell,’ I said.
Miranda scooped up the photos and went to leave the room, clearly intending to put them back in the spots where they’d been displayed. But something made me say, ‘Wait.’
She bristled, but I had to say it. ‘I’m guessing Jasmine doesn’t know how much she looks like your mum.’
‘Well, she’s going to find out.’
‘But maybe …’
Miranda’s glare had made my mouth go dry. ‘Spit it out,’ she said.
I looked at Holly for support, but she was in her own world, clearly too freaked out to speak.
I swallowed. ‘It’s not Jasmine’s fault, is it? It must be hard for her, coming here, meeting you all. Maybe let her settle in, get to know her a bit, before confronting her with all this stuff about her being your mum’s spitting image. And shouldn’t you talk to your dad about it first, too?’
There was a silence. Miranda was staring at me like she couldn’t believe I had the temerity to speak.
But Lewis said, ‘He’s right. You girls need to give poor Jasmine a break. Try to imagine how you would feel if you were her.’
Holly dipped her head, contrite suddenly.
And then, before anyone else could say anything, we heard an American voice behind us.
‘I couldn’t sleep,’ Jasmine said, as everyone turned to face her. ‘Hey, is everything okay?’
Lewis was smooth, I had to give him that. He put his arm around her shoulders, guiding her towards the living room before she could take in the pile of photos Miranda was holding. ‘We’ve been talking about how happy we are that you’re going to be spending Hogmanay with us.’ He turned his head and, with a grimace and flick of the eyes, gestured for Miranda to put the photos back in the drawer.
To my surprise, she obeyed.
‘Why don’t you lie down on the sofa?’ Lewis said. ‘I’ll put the telly on. Maybe we can find something really boring that will help you sleep. I’ll get you a blanket.’
As soon as they’d left the kitchen, Miranda spoke to Zack through gritted teeth. ‘You and I need to talk. Let’s go for a walk. Where’s the dog’s lead?’
Zack muttered, ‘For fuck’s sake,’ but took down the lead from where it was hanging on the back of the kitchen door. Watson, who had heard the word ‘lead’, appeared from beneath the table where he’d been snoozing.
‘You’re going to tell me everything you know about this woman and how my dad happened to meet someone who looks exactly like our mother.’
They drifted into the hallway and I watched them from the kitchen doorway.
