Adele was still getting used to life inside and she was often shocked by the stories that some of the inmates told. Although her own childhood hadn’t been exactly idyllic, at least she had avoided many of the forms of abuse that other prisoners had had to contend with. Her parents’ faults were numerous but she did have the advantage of being brought up by family, including a loving grandmother, rather than having to live with foster parents, in a care home or, even worse, on the streets.

It was obvious her words hadn’t brought any comfort to Louise, who continued to weep as she buried her face further into Adele’s chest, saturating her top. At a loss as to what else to say, Adele just held Louise close, stroking her hair.

After a while Louise’s weeping ceased and she lifted her head and gazed into Adele’s eyes. Adele held her gaze and tucked a stray lock of hair behind Louise’s ear. It was an attempt at reassurance but she realised, too late, that the young woman had misread her intentions. Louise raised her head further, her lips hungrily seeking those of her comforter. Adele drew back but Louise’s lips were already on hers.

Before Adele could pull away, she heard someone yelling her surname. ‘What the fuck d’you think you’re playing at, Robinson?’ the woman at the door demanded.

It was Denise, Louise’s girlfriend. Adele didn’t have an opportunity to explain before she heard Denise advancing towards her.

Adele quickly prised herself from Louise and raised her bent right arm. With no time to turn round, she judged Denise’s position from the sound of her footsteps. Then she drew her arm back swiftly and jabbed her elbow hard into the soft flesh of Denise’s abdomen.

Adele didn’t give the other woman a chance to retaliate. She rose from the bed and stood to face Denise, who was stooped low, her hands gripping her stomach and her breath coming in short gasps. Before Denise could recover, Adele followed up with an uppercut to her face, which knocked Denise off balance and she crashed to the ground with her nose pumping blood.

Then Adele adopted a defensive kickboxing stance; left leg in front of the right, and hands forming fists in front of her face with her elbows covering her ribs. As she waited for Denise to recover and charge at her, the adrenalin was racing around her body and priming her for action.

‘Stop, stop!’ shouted Louise, dashing up to Adele and grabbing ineffectually at her left arm. ‘It’s not what you think,’ she called to Denise, who was now sprawled across the floor, still clutching her stomach.

Adele stepped back but maintained her defensive stance while she awaited Denise’s reaction. She could feel her heart thumping but she tried to focus on Denise.

‘What the fuck is it, then?’ gasped Denise.