There was even the same poster up in the kitchen, a yellowing Health and Safety notice about what to do if someone was choking. Underneath it, someone had written Leave Them Alone. They’re Probably Bulimic. Kate had never known if they were serious or not. She still didn’t. The layouts for Sue’s approval were the same, piled high in Sue’s tray; Kate could see the marks scribbled all over them. But still everything at Venus felt different, Kate most especially. It was like it was with her parents. She couldn’t remember being in those meetings, telling people what to do and she most especially couldn’t remember leaving that life, going home to Sean, in their flat. Kate sat in front of Sue, who was holding a printout of her article. Her fringe was falling into her eyes; she blew it away, nervously.‘Go on then,’ she said, torn between being completely humiliated and suddenly, inexplicably, wanting to laugh.‘Right,’ said Sue, grinding her jaw. ‘Here goes. “It was the advent of the canals which, coupled with the arrival of steam engine power to England, hastened the Industrial Revolution and helped enable the greatest – and most controversial – Empire since Roman times.”’ She fixed Kate with a baleful glance.
