To Ruby’s amazement he hit his forehead several times with the flat of his palm, and at this point she thought, he’s ill, he must have banged his head down the pit or something. Accidents happened all the time but if they weren’t serious the miners carried on working. Adam’s father was living proof of this. Some years ago he’d fractured a bone in his ankle but had still dragged himself to the colliery each day, the threat of no work, no pay, getting him through. To the present day he walked with a limp.

‘It’s all right,’ she said quietly. ‘Whatever’s the matter it will be all right.’

‘You know how drunk I was that night, don’t you? You know I wasn’t in my right mind?’ His voice almost a whimper now, he whispered, ‘I love you, Ruby. You’re everything to me.’

‘Adam—’

‘I hate her. She knew what she was doing, she wasn’t as drunk as all that whatever she says now. She came upstairs to find me, didn’t she? Is that someone who’s pie-eyed?’

The chill that flickered down Ruby’s spine had nothing to do with the weather. Through the feeling of dread she heard her voice saying quite calmly, ‘Who is “she”?’

His face stricken, he opened his mouth but nothing came out for a moment. He swallowed hard, his eyes roaming over her face before he muttered, ‘Her, Olive.’

‘Olive?’ She couldn’t have heard right, not if what she thought Adam was saying was true . . . ‘Olive, my sister?’

‘She came up to the bedroom when the rest of you were downstairs and I thought at first it was you. I couldn’t see clearly – it was dark – and she lay down. She was all over me, doing things, and I . . . Oh, hell, Ruby, don’t look like that. She helped herself, that’s the truth of it, because I was in no state to stop her. The drink, it made me—’

‘You did it with Olive?’ Shock kept her voice flat. From when they had first understood about the birds and bees, they’d agreed their wedding night would be special. Through all their fumblings, all the times when the temptation had been almost overpowering, they’d managed to stop. ‘You took my sister down?’