‘You will attempt to escape in the beginning,’ he said, almost as if he wanted her to try. She cowered on the bed. ‘But you won’t be able to. I’m going to lock that trapdoor and it all depends on your behaviour how often I come down and what you get when I do. If you’re good, and if you’re quiet, eventually I’ll take the chains off. I’ll bring you food and drink. But you can’t make a sound. No matter what you hear upstairs, you can’t shout out. If you do, I’ll beat you, do you understand? You’ll be staying here with me. If you’re good, no harm will come to you. Okay?’

He leaned down then and kissed her on the cheek, like she was his pet. She recoiled, bile rising in her throat. Even then, when she wanted to scream and spit at him, she said nothing. Whatever he expected from her, he wasn’t getting it.

The people in her village thought they had Mary Ellen pegged. The downside of living in a small place. Everybody knew your business. If you drank one too many or kissed some man you shouldn’t, it wasn’t something you’d be allowed to forget. Other girls in other places got to wake up the next morning, cringe, maybe avoid a certain pub for a while, but then get on with their lives.

Not here. In Glendale, people made up their minds early and they stayed made up.

Mary Ellen had learned it was best to let them think whatever they wanted and try not to let it upset her. She knew she wasn’t the slut they claimed she was, in spiteful whispers. She knew she wasn’t an alcoholic, like her father had been. And her mam and sister knew those things, too. They were all that mattered to her, really.

Words couldn’t hurt her.

But actions did.

It had been two years since the Moran brothers.

She’d gone back to the house with them – willingly. She admitted that, not thinking that was something she should feel guilty about. They’d bought cans and cheap plonk in the pub, the three of them. Everybody had seen. She’d gone to school with Ger, the younger brother. They all knew each other. What had she to fear?

Yes, she’d fancied Terence, the eldest. And yes, she’d probably thought something might happen between them. Maybe even that night.