Mariam had waited on the top landing of the farmhouse almost too long. The intruder was light on his feet. From the time he’d left the staircase, she hadn’t been able to tell which room he was going into. To avoid making noise and ensuring discovery, she’d stayed in the cubbyhole in the base of the guest room wardrobe until she was certain the house was empty again. After that, she’d opened the old upper barn door to the external wall of the converted house and braved the ladder to the ground.

It was well hidden from the eye by ivy growth, but the rungs were easy enough to feel with her feet. She reached solid earth, whispering a prayer. The farmer had made sure she knew how to get out should the need ever arise, not that either of them had honestly believed it would, and then all they were concerned about was an immigration raid.

Sprinting for the new barn, she took another ladder to the upper floor, where thirteen more immigrants were already asleep. Mariam shook them awake one by one, cautioning them to be quiet even though the intruder’s car was gone. If there was one thing she’d learned in her native Mali, it was that danger was never truly past and that the second you relaxed would be the moment your soul flew to heaven.

The farmer had treated them well enough. It wasn’t exactly slavery. They were given food and drink, warm sleeping bags and appropriate clothes for the weather. In return, they worked his land, and Mariam had been chosen to keep house for him. She was the one with the best English, not to mention the best figure. There were other things she’d had to tolerate to keep her children safe, but compared to the persecution and poverty she’d faced in her home country, she regarded it as a price worth paying.

The farmer wasn’t a bad man. Just lonely, desperate and willing to take advantage of others’ misfortunes when the opportunity arose. Him and several other billion people across the world. She hadn’t enjoyed the sex, but it had earned her a place in a proper bed and decent meals. Most of the time she was also able to sneak extra food to her son and daughter. She’d have put up with a lot worse to see them safe.