Jane thought about it and walked away and sat at a desk. Marjorie faced Juliet. ‘I have not taken Davey away. I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to, and I don’t.’

‘That’s just words. This baby will come and you’ll be a family.’

‘You are my family.’

‘Bullshit.’

‘You think he just came home for me and this baby? You’re wrong. He came home because you were miserable in America.’

‘That’s not true.’

‘It is true. There was a change in you after your last visit: you were unhappy, unsettled, you couldn’t focus on your schoolwork, you were moody and sad and no matter what he did he couldn’t help you. He didn’t know I was pregnant when he made that decision. He moved home for you, Juliet.’

Something changed in the child. Marjorie saw the change happen before her eyes. She softened; the anger ebbed away. Juliet wiped away a tear. ‘And now he’s landed me on you.’

‘I wanted to raise you as my own but I was living in a one-bed flat after the divorce.’

‘As if.’

‘Ask your gran or your granda or Grace or Davey, who I gave shit to because I was jealous and I didn’t think he was good enough for you.’

Juliet smiled a little. ‘Poor Davey, everyone gives him shit all the time.’

‘I want us to be a family, and I think if your ma is looking down – and I know she’s not but if she is – she’d be over the moon.’

Juliet nodded. ‘You really wanted me?’

‘Really I did.’

‘Marjorie?’

‘Yes, love.’

‘Something terrible happened in America.’

Jane returned with the forms. ‘Are you buying anything or not?’

‘Go away.’

‘I work here.’

‘Not for long if I have anything to say about it,’ Marjorie said. Jane was gone.

There and then, while sitting on the second-dearest bed in a furniture shop in the city of Dublin, Juliet told Marjorie the story of Trevor and what he did to her and how scared and isolated, guilty, dirty and ashamed it made her feel. Marjorie could feel her temperature rising and her temper kick in. Oh, Rabbit.

Be cool, Marjorie, be cool.

Her insides ached and her baby kicked and her mind flooded with memories she’d locked away since she was eight years old. The anger rose inside her, raising her core temperature so much she could feel her head sweating.

‘I’ll track him down, torture him, kill him and bury him in lime.’

‘That’s very specific,’ Juliet said. She couldn’t look at Marjorie; her eyes were cast down towards the floor, her cheeks were flushed, she was on the verge of tears.

I know this, I understand this, I was you. Marjorie took her into her arms. ‘It’s not your fault. He’s a scumbag and he will be dealt with. Your uncle Davey . . .’