‘It means that the person who brought you in had with her a signed paper from a doctor sayin’ that you was a danger to yourself an’ others. An’ so you’ll be havin’ a little holiday ’ere with us till the doctor who committed you thinks yer safe to be let out.’

Ruby’s head wagged from side to side in denial. ‘But there must be some mistake? I-I came here to see my mother.’

‘There yer go again, yer see?’ Nurse Keen tutted. ‘You ain’t got no mother, dearie. She’s a figment of yer tortured mind. An’ is it a lie that yer were carryin’ a child an’ all?’

‘Well . . . no I was, but that wasn’t my fault. You see—’

Nurse Keen hauled her up from the floor while the other nurse tossed a shabby, shapeless brown gown at her.

‘Put that on,’ she snapped.

Rather than stand there naked, Ruby did as she was told as humiliation washed through her. But her humiliation wasn’t over yet for next Nurse Keen produced a pair of sharp scissors from her pocket and nodded at the other woman. ‘Hold her still while I get rid o’ some o’ this mop.’

Once again Ruby was seized with her arms pressed tight to her sides and seconds later, she was staring down at her red hair falling in thick ringlets to the floor. She was helpless to prevent it and prayed that she was caught in the grip of a nightmare. Surely soon she would wake up in her comfortable bed at Hermione’s to find that all this had been a bad dream? When Nurse Keen finally nodded to the other nurse to release her, Ruby’s hand instinctively rose to her head to feel the stubble that was all she had left there. And then suddenly what was happening hit her like a blow to the stomach and she felt sick. Miranda had tricked and betrayed her. All the time she had been pretending to be her friend was leading up to this day. But why? What have I ever done to her to make her hate me so much? Ruby wondered.

‘So when will I be allowed to go home?’ she asked in a small voice. All the fight had gone out of her for now.

Nurse Keen threw back her head and laughed. ‘Did yer ’ear that, Hilda? When will she be allowed to go ’ome?’ She leant in so close that Ruby could feel her fetid breath on her cheek. She could smell it too: tobacco, spirits, rotting teeth and bad breath.

‘There ain’t many as come in ’ere ever go out again ’cept in a box, so you’d better get used to the idea,’ she said cruelly. Then grabbing Ruby’s arm she hauled her along the corridor and flung her back into the grim little room.