‘You cannot take her,’ said Zoltan, putting his face close to Ugo’s. ‘She is mine.’

Ugo backed away from him. ‘Keep away from me,’ he said, staring in horror at the Hungarian’s bloodstained tunic. ‘You are disgusting. You pollute the air. You come here, like that, with these filthy girls, trying to tell me what I can and cannot do. I am the capo, Zoltan. You are in my world now.’

Ugo gave a signal and two of his guards took hold of Amy’s arms. Another trained a machine gun on Zoltan.

‘If anything happens to me, my men will kill you,’ said Zoltan.

‘I will hold the girl for as long as I think necessary,’ said Ugo. ‘To make sure you behave yourself in my home. Then we shall see. Maybe I will let you have her back. Maybe I will ransom her myself. Or maybe I will keep her here as a servant.’

The two guards dragged Amy away up some steps towards a big iron door.

‘Why do you do this, Ugo?’ said Zoltan.

‘Because I can, Zoltan. What is power if I cannot use it?’

Amy watched from the steps as Grace suddenly grabbed hold of Ugo. ‘Please,’ she said. ‘This is nothing to do with me. Won’t you let me go?’

Ugo lifted his hands in the air, afraid to touch Grace.

‘Take your hands off me!’ he screamed and a guard pulled Grace away.

‘I beg you,’ said Grace. ‘I’m not worth anything to you. I’m not from a rich family. Can’t you just let me go? Please…’

‘She is right,’ said Zoltan. ‘She is not part of this.’

‘Sì,’ said Ugo. ‘She is right. She is worth nothing to me. I do not want her. She is free.’

‘Thank you,’ said Grace. ‘Thank you, sir.’

Grace looked up towards Amy and gave a small smile of encouragement, but Amy watched in horror as Ugo walked behind her and took the machine gun back from the guard.

His long, thin, white finger curled around the trigger.

Amy tried to cry out and warn Grace, but she was pulled up the steps and as the metal door slammed shut behind her she heard the brief muffled rasp of the gun on the other side.

She could still hear that terrible sound now. When she closed her eyes at night it haunted her in the blackness. And she heard it now, as she looked out across the valley from her prison.

She clamped her hands to her ears until the sound went away. When she removed them the noise of gunfire was replaced by the distant clonk of cowbells and the warbling of a dove, somewhere up on the roof; the same irritating sound, over and over…

There was a rattle of keys and the door opened.