–  I have no intention of coming anywhere near you! You’re hardly more than a child! Anyway, I’m not in the market for a wife. My mother’s fond of you – you’ll be company for her when I’m out and a bit of help around the place. So you need have no fears, Mary darlin’; as of this minute, you’ve never been safer! I have no interest whatsoever in you, although it’s nearly funny you’re so ready to defend your honour? Shame you weren’t so sensible with Doctor Loughrey’s boy?

Why did he have to mention Joe? Why did he drag him into the room and remind me that I’d thrown away my chance of being free of Carncloon one day? Why had I been foolish enough to forget that Joe was the best match I could ever hope for? I imagined him being pushed on to the aeroplane by Dr and Mrs Darling, protesting, begging to be allowed to come home and hear me out. He said he loved me and I still believed he was telling the truth as I stood crying in front of my brand-spanking-new husband.

–  You can’t speak to me like that! You don’t know what went on between Joe and me, you don’t know, you could never understand … anything!

–  I don’t want to know! I never want to know. I don’t want to hear from you. I don’t want to see you more than is absolutely necessary to keep Bridie happy. I don’t care what you think of me, Mary. I don’t care what any single idiot from Carncloon thinks. What you have to realise is that it’s done. You and me are done, a done deal.

With that he barged past me, got the butter out and cut great slices of it to try and make his dinner easier to eat. I didn’t like the way he was clenching his jaw. I ran to the Lower Room and sat on the torn horsehair chair shaking like a leaf. I thought he was supposed to be a quiet man? Seems he had plenty to say when he was in a mood. I shouldn’t have pushed him because now I knew he hated me.

I had been right. I was little more than a bauble for his mother. As long as I gave him no trouble, we would get along just fine. I would stay down here, untouched, and he would stay in the Upper Room, untouched. The problem was that we had to stay together.