Blushing, Olivia left the room without a backward glance. She would be hanged if she would allow her miserable father to ruin her only friendship. She headed up the stairs with grim determination. She would go to the garden tomorrow, and if Ted came to see her – and she was certain he would – they would come up with a new meeting place, somewhere her father couldn’t find them.

The next day when Olivia entered the garden she saw that the hole in the hedge had been boarded over. Determined that her father would not stop her from seeing Ted, she decided that if he couldn’t come to her, she would go to him. She cut across the lawn only to see her father halfway down the sweeping drive, leaning on his walking stick, clearly waiting for her to turn up. ‘And just where do you think you’re going?’ he challenged.

Olivia ignored him. What was the point in responding when they both knew the answer? Her father stepped into her path and repeated the question, but Olivia sidestepped him. She never normally argued with her father over anything, but Ted was worth fighting for; he had brought her a new freedom, making her feel like she was special. If she was to give in to her father now, she would go back to a lonely and miserable existence. Her heart fluttered in her chest, as she felt his hand encircle her wrist. It was now or never. She yanked her wrist sharply in an effort to free herself from his grip. In that moment a number of things happened. Olivia’s father momentarily lost balance, and whether he had meant to strike her or not, she couldn’t be certain, but either way the handle of his cane split in two as it connected with her cheek. Whilst her father was not unaccustomed to throwing things in his temper, or gripping hold of her harder than he should, up until now he had never struck her with anything. Olivia stood still in shock, slowly putting a hand up to her cheek which was already beginning to throb.

Her father began to mumble a hasty apology, but Olivia was too upset to listen. Something Ted had often told her rang out in her mind: ‘You can always come here if it gets too much.’ Without a moment’s hesitation, she ran down the gravelled drive.

Hearing someone hammering against the front door, Ted jerked it open, only to see Olivia standing before him, her cheek swollen and her eye beginning to turn purple. He enveloped her in a tight embrace as she sobbed into his chest.

‘I’ll ruddy well kill him,’ Ted whispered as he kissed the top of her head.