The seated parishioners moved forward for the consecration of the Host. Luna closed her eyes and prayed. She prayed that Papa might find rest from his busy schedule; she gave thanks for Mamma Lucrezia’s stew; she prayed for Maria’s future as a wife, may she find courage to enjoy it; and she prayed for Pippo to be safe when he joined the preacher’s boys. It was good to be heard. She knew it was wrong, but she slipped in a final prayer for the poor dead dog.

The congregation had begun to disperse and, in a happy daze, Luna joined the crowd moving towards the doors. She waved to Maria farther ahead then turned to look for Mamma Lucrezia and Pippo in the sea of faces behind. As she did, she lost her footing and fell. Sawdust pressed against her cheek and one elbow stung painfully. The crowd flowed around her like water around a rock and Luna pushed herself up as quickly as she could and reset her walking stick firmly. She moved on more carefully and managed herself well enough, but her cheeks burned.

Then she heard voices and turned again. Three young women around her own age stood close, though none of them as tall as she. Luna didn’t know them but she could tell by their dress they were from good families. Still, they stared. A man drew himself up to stand beside the ladies, older than they and of an age to hold sway, though by the cut of his tight velvet breeches, Luna wondered with what intent. She held to her walking stick, feeling the press of the pearl against her palm as he sidled closer. How many such as him had she encountered through the years, who saw first and foremost an opportunity to court attention when they spied her. She rounded out her shoulders decisively.

‘I remember you, cripple legs. I see you are still falling down,’ he said, making sure his lady friends had heard. ‘I should have dealt with you when I had the chance; the house of God is no more a place for mongrels than the street. You are just as pitiful as that mangy dog.’

Luna felt a surge of disgust at the man’s cold indifference. ‘And you’re a coward who takes pleasure in killing helpless animals,’ she replied without hesitation.

Surprise spread across his face. His Adam’s apple worked ferociously. ‘If you were a man, you would not be able to say those words to me.’ The girls sniggered and made Luna even more furious.

‘Yet I am a woman, and I will shame you all the same.’