‘No, Matron, I don’t.’ Ruby was crying now. ‘I was going to have a child, admittedly, but it was forced upon me . . . I was raped . . . and yes, I admit that I did steal a few times for the person who was caring for me at the time but—’

‘That’s enough!’ The matron held her hand up and as she did the light spilling through the window caught the stone in the ring she was wearing, making it flash a rich blood red.

‘Why . . . that’s my ring you’re wearing,’ Ruby protested before she could stop herself.

The woman rose from her seat to glare at her. ‘And this is just the sort of behaviour the doctor warned us that you are prone to,’ she responded. ‘So now I will tell you what is going to happen. You will remain here and receive treatment for your psychotic behaviour until the person who is paying for your stay decides otherwise. You have a lot of wickedness in you so we will begin with the leeches. Hopefully they will suck a little of the badness out of you. Take her away, nurse!’

Ruby stared at her in horror as she shuddered. ‘NO! I won’t let you,’ she shouted as she moved forward but the nurse already had her arms pinned to her sides and as Ruby kicked and struggled she dragged her out of the room and towards the staircase where another woman ran forward to help pull her up the stairs.

When they arrived back at the little cell she had spent the night in, they shoved her forcefully through the door, causing her to land with such a thud on the floor that it knocked all the air out of her and for a moment she lay gasping for breath. But soon, as the horror of her situation hit her full force, she was back on her feet again, banging at the door and screaming for all she was worth. Once again, the other poor souls in the adjoining cells joined in and the noise became so deafening that Ruby put her hands across her ears to try to block out the sound, before throwing herself onto the hard mattress.

She had no idea how long she lay there, but eventually the door opened and yet another nurse appeared. This one was much younger and with her fair hair and blue eyes, she was nowhere near as frightening to look at.

‘Hello, Ruby. I’m Nurse Downes and I was wondering if you’d like to come along to the dining room?’

Ruby shook her head, muttering sullenly, ‘I’m not hungry!’

The nurse stared at her worriedly. ‘But you must try to eat something or you’ll make yourself ill,’ she urged, then glancing across her shoulder as if to make sure they couldn’t be overheard she said in a lower voice, ‘And if you continue to refuse food, they’ll force-feed you.’