Had she loved her? Ruby searched herself. Yes, she had. Olive was her only sibling now, the lads having being killed in the war, and family was everything. How stupid, how utterly stupid and credulous did that make her? The sound she made was dragged up from the depths of her, something between a moan and a wail, and somewhere in the hedgerow a blackbird protested at it, sending out a warning call. Well, she would never make the mistake of trusting anyone again; she had learned her lesson. The rose-coloured glasses were well and truly off now.

She stood for long minutes, gazing with burning-hot eyes down the lane. Tomorrow was supposed to be her wedding day. Her bridal dress and those of Olive and Ellie were hanging in the bedroom at home she shared with her sister. Her mam had been baking for days for the wedding feast after the ceremony. Adam’s family, and her mam’s two sisters and their families, were coming, along with Ellie and Mrs Walton. Her mam had borrowed extra chairs from the neighbours, and her aunties were bringing more plates and cups and saucers and cutlery. Her mam had even gone out and bought a fancy new lace tablecloth for the occasion, although she could ill afford it, and the beautiful iced wedding cake was already sitting on the table that normally held an aspidistra in the front room.

Ruby shook her head at herself. Why on earth was she thinking of a cake, a cake, when her whole world was lying in fragments around her? And there was Olive, who had orchestrated the whole thing, sitting happily at home as though butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

That was it, she had to go back. Through the raging pain a section of her mind told her what to do. Home was where her mam was and she needed her mam like she’d never done before.

For a moment tears threatened but then the anger rose up again, hot and fierce as she thought of her sister. She made herself begin to walk, putting one foot in front of another hesitantly in the way a blind person might move, but with each step her desire to leap on Olive and rend her limb from limb grew.

Chapter Two

Olive had watched from the kitchen window as Ruby left the backyard earlier. After a minute or two when she was sure her sister had gone, she went quietly into the hall and took her hat and coat from the row of pegs on the wall that held the family’s outdoor things. Putting them on, she changed her indoor shoes for her stout ankle boots and walked back into the kitchen, there to be greeted by her mother who said in some surprise, ‘Where on earth do you think you’re going?’

‘I’m just popping out for a breath of fresh air. I won’t be long.’