‘Hope it’s OK,’ he said, sitting across from her with his own plate. ‘Maureen reckoned I could burn water, but you can’t go far wrong with scrambled eggs, can you?’

‘Is good,’ Irena said, taking a tiny bite of toast and delicately wiping the crumbs off her lips.

‘How are you feeling this morning?’ Frank asked, trying not to stare at the bruises circling her wrists.

‘A little better,’ she said. ‘Thank you for let me sleep in daughter’s bed, is very comfortable. And thank you for clothes.’

‘You’re welcome,’ Frank said, leaning back in his chair to reach for the two cups of tea he’d left on the ledge. ‘That colour really suits you.’

Irena gave him a shy smile, and then gazed around the room.

‘This is very nice house. Have you live here long?’

‘Coming up for twenty years,’ Frank said, covering his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from spitting toast crumbs at her. ‘It was a functioning farm for the first eighteen, but I had to retire a couple of years back, so I sold off my livestock, and now it’s just a house.’

‘Is nice,’ Irena said again. ‘It remind me of farm houses in Prague when I was child.’

‘Ah, so that’s where the accent’s from,’ said Frank. ‘I did wonder. But, tell me . . . where did you come from last night? Somewhere local, I’m guessing?’

Irena dipped her gaze, and Frank frowned when he noticed that her chin was wobbling.

‘Sorry if it looks like I’m prying,’ he apologized. ‘I was only curious, but it’s fine if you don’t want to tell me.’

‘Is not you.’ Irena sniffed. ‘I just don’t know what I am to do.’

Frank put his fork down and rested his elbows on the table.

‘Look, love, I totally get why you’re scared of that man after what he did to you,’ he said softly. ‘And I know you’re terrified of involving the police, but there are people who can help you without involving them. I don’t know if you have the same thing in your country, but we have refuges for women in your position. They keep you safe while you’re there, and they can help to get you rehoused where the people who’ve hurt you can’t find you.’

‘You do not understand,’ Irena replied quietly. ‘Nowhere is safe, because I am not meant to be in country. He – he take my passport so I cannot leave, and he say police will put me in prison if they catch me.’

‘Is he your boyfriend?’ Frank asked, noticing that there was no ring on her finger.

‘No, he is monster.’

‘Then why were you with him?’

Irena looked down at her hands, and Frank could tell she was struggling to keep her emotions in check when she bit her lip and breathed in deeply.