Ruby felt anxiety take hold at the strange look on Constance’s face as she spoke, her gray eyes too large, too bright, the way she was when she was beginning to detach from reality. But there wasn’t time to worry about Constance’s delusions now. It was more important to get her away from there—they could deal with her mental health when they were in a safe place. A place that wasn’t rigged with cameras and listening devices.

As Constance went to put the baby down for the night, Ruby switched the TV on and turned it up loud.

She laughed—then worried it sounded false—at Constance’s confused expression when she came back into the room. They never usually watched TV. “I love this one,” said Ruby—too loud? “Let’s watch it together.” It was one of those talent shows, all glitter and ballgowns. Constance looked sideways at her, questioning. Ruby turned it up even louder, and flicked her eyes at the ceiling. After that, Constance seemed to understand. Almost without moving her lips, keeping her eyes trained on the screen, Ruby said,

“I heard what he did to you just now.”

Ruby could almost feel Gregor watching them from the overhead cameras. Her head itched, though she didn’t scratch. The bad feeling crept down her neck, spreading over her skin. Her whole body ached with the effort of not moving, not reacting, not trembling, though her heart was drumming so loudly she was sure it could be picked up by the hidden microphones.

Constance said nothing for a while. From the corner of her eye, Ruby saw a fat tear sliding down the other woman’s cheek, changing color in the light from the TV.

“Does he ever hit Leonie?”

She turned to look at Constance, who nodded, almost imperceptibly. Rage made Ruby’s cheeks burn. Her fingers twitched, as if they would have grabbed something to hit him with, had he been there. She tried to breathe slowly.

“I can help you get away. You can’t let her stay here any longer. You could go anywhere you like, another city—there are hostels for people like you, with small children.”

“No,” said Constance. “I need to go home. Back to the island. The skerry. They’ll come and get me, if I can get to the coast at the right time, on the solstice.”

“Are you sure that’s where you want to go?” Of course it was home, to Constance, but everything she’d heard about the place was awful. The rituals, the strange beliefs that resulted in drownings. Although, Ruby realized, all of that had come from him. The man whom, until recently, she’d trusted without question. Ruby hadn’t listened properly to Constance because Gregor had made her believe Constance was mad. But Gregor had lied about so much, from the very start. She had no idea who he even was.