Inside the bedroom a small fire blazed in the grate. Briony went through the usual routine of letting Henry undress her, then in nothing but her long socks she sat on the side of the bed while he undressed himself, carefully folding his clothes and putting them neatly on to a chair. Once he was naked he went to sit beside her on the bed. Taking her tiny hand, he placed it on his member and Briony gently massaged it the way she knew he liked her to. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. She looked down at what she was doing and saw that her breasts were much more prominent than they had been. Then she sighed. Her body was letting her down.

As Henry pushed her backwards on to the bed, she played her own personal little game. In her mind she was grown-up and famous, with lovely clothes and a lovely house and lovely friends.

Henry Dumas, unaware of his charge’s lack of enthusiasm, drove her hard that night before leaving. But although her body ached with his roughness, Briony’s mind stayed crystal clear and untouched.

It was two-thirty in the morning when she felt the first pain. It shot through her like a red hot knife, waking her from her sleep. She pushed her knees up to her chest in an instinctive move to stop the pain. But it came again a little later. It was like a cramp inside her. Pulling herself from the bed, she made her way to Mrs Horlock’s room. Shaking the old women roughly awake, Briony explained what was happening to her.

Mrs Horlock leapt from the bed in her haste, her old bones forgotten as she took the terrified child back to her own room. It must be her period coming. The old woman went down to the kitchen and made her a hot drink of milk with a touch of whisky in it.

‘There, there now, me pet. You’ll feel better soon.’

But when Briony vomited and the pains got worse, Mrs Horlock woke Cissy and went for the doctor. Mrs Horlock was very worried. The child looked as if she was about to give birth! She held her hand until Dr Carlton arrived and then thankfully gave way to him.

Dr Carlton was in his fifties and, though he was a respectable practitioner in many respects, was also known for his attendance on people with money who could afford to pay for medical services with no questions asked. He helped gentlewomen who, for one reason or another, needed an abortion, usually because the child wasn’t their husband’s. He also helped men who had contracted certain diseases and were worried they had passed them on to their wives.

Dr Carlton examined Briony with practised hands and then, after giving her a draught to make her sleep, stepped outside to Mrs Horlock and Cissy.