Beth feels Tess’s hand on her arm. She hadn’t even noticed her moving closer. ‘I just wanted to go home and forget about it. I didn’t go to the check-ups or take the tablets to stop my milk. I let it come and I let it hurt and I still didn’t feel anything.’

Beth falls silent for a while and Maud has to nudge her gently to tell her to carry on, to get it all out.

‘I first hit Greg six weeks after the baby died. He had been pushing me to talk about it. He wanted to hold me and cry over our loss. Lenny didn’t understand what was going on. I’d left it to Greg to tell him. I didn’t want my boy to know I’d failed. He was looking forward to having a brother.’

Beth’s voice is flat and detached. Tess rubs her hand as if she’s trying to warm her up, as if Beth’s just come in from the cold.

‘Greg said nothing to start with. He assumed the fact I didn’t want to talk was just my way of dealing with things. I felt like he deserved it, that it was all his fault. He’d pushed me to have the baby, so I pushed him back. Then one day I slapped him, too. He just stood there. He didn’t respond or retaliate. Not once.’

Tess and Maud sigh together. You didn’t often hear about decent men in their shelter. ‘I did it again, then again. Never in front of Lenny, but that just made it worse. The tension would coil up inside me all evening, like a snake, and as soon as Lenny went to bed, I’d force a row, just so I could snap. Greg would grab my arms, beg me to stop, to get help …’ Beth is rambling now, a runaway train. The wheels have come off, the rails are shot to pieces. ‘He sent Lenny to a sleepover one night, so we could talk, but he hadn’t asked me first. I threw my hot coffee at him. He had to go to hospital. That was it. He told me if I did it again, he’d report me. He told me I’d lose Lenny.’

‘Quite right,’ Tess says sadly.

‘I packed while he was at the doctor’s for a check-up. My stuff and Lenny’s. I thought I’d have time to get away before Greg got back. God, his face when he saw our bags … I had to grab Lenny and force him into the car. He didn’t want to leave. He was screaming. Greg was screaming. He grabbed my arm and pulled, trying to stop me.’

‘Your sore shoulder …’ Tess’s voice is quiet.