The door opened and the same nurse who had brought her tray to her the night before stepped into the room, scowling at the mess of food that had now set on the floor. ‘Get that cleaned up immediately,’ she snapped, putting down a bucket and a mop. ‘And when you’ve done that you can come along to the bathroom to wash yerself if you’ve a mind to, an’ empty out your slop bucket. This ain’t a hotel, yer don’t get waited on ’ere. An’ I’m Nurse Young by the way, so don’t forget it.’

She slammed the door, and knowing that she had little choice other than to do as she was told, Ruby scraped the dry food back onto the tray and scrubbed what had now dried to a solid glutinous mess on the floor with the mop. She retrieved the slice of grey bread that had come with whatever had been in the dish from beneath the bed and dropped that onto the tray too. Her stomach was growling with hunger but she couldn’t have eaten it even if she’d wanted to because it was rock hard now and she would have feared for her teeth. Eventually, when she could do no more, she sat back on the bed to wait.

Nurse Young soon reappeared and nodding towards the bucket that stood in the corner she ordered, ‘Come wi’ me.’

Ruby lifted the bucket, trying her utmost not to look at the contents as she carried it carefully along the corridor to the washroom she had been taken to the day before.

‘Slop that lot down there.’ Nurse Young pointed to a toilet. ‘An’ then come an’ strip off an’ get yerself washed over ’ere.’

The nurse settled onto a hard-backed wooden chair and once the bucket was emptied Ruby approached the sink with her cheeks burning.

‘Couldn’t I be given a little privacy to wash?’ Ruby asked, her voice little more than a squeak at the thought of being naked in front of this abominable woman.

The nurse threw back her head and let out a throaty laugh. ‘Ooh, ’ark at little Miss La-De-Da! Privacy indeed.’ Her beady eyes narrowed as she glared at Ruby. ‘Now strip off an’ do as yer told or do I ’ave to do it for yer?’

Ruby tentatively pulled the scratchy gown over her head and, shivering, she crossed to the sink where she quickly used the carbolic soap and the rag that had been left there to wash herself as thoroughly as she could while the nurse watched her avidly.

‘You know . . . I could make it so much nicer fer you while yer in ’ere if you decided to be nice to me,’ she wheedled.

Ruby’s blood ran cold at the expression on the woman’s face. She had seen that look once before – on her father’s face the night he had raped her.