“It’s true,” Joy said, regretting each word as it left her mouth. “You’re too scared to go back to the world, so you’d rather stay here. You’ll keep Mary and me locked up with you because you’re too much of a coward to—”

Noreen slapped her hard. Joy felt the callouses of Noreen’s palm on her cheek, her head rocking on her shoulders, followed by a floating sensation. She slipped from the bed and backed away across the damp floor. The urge to bite and tear at Noreen came on her strong, but then she saw Mary woken from her slumber, looking from one to the other, confused.

“It’s all right, love, go back to sleep,” Noreen said.

“Aye, back to sleep,” Joy said, pulling the blankets up around the child.

Neither woman spoke again as they readied themselves for bed.

In the morning, Joy cleared the upstairs fireplaces, sweeping up ash and scooping them into the tin bucket. She was on her knees in George’s room when he entered, looking for the shirt she’d ironed for him earlier. He slipped the braces off his round shoulders, pulled the shirt from the coat hanger on the door and burrowed his arms into the sleeves.

Joy sat back onto her haunches, her filthy hands in her lap, and waited in silence until his attention was on her.

“Thank you,” she said.

He paused doing up his buttons. “What for?”

“For giving Mary the medicine. For saving her life.”

“Aye, well,” he said, turning away from her, moving towards the door.

“She’s an awful good child.”

George hesitated on the threshold.

“She’s so gentle and loving. So kind. So good-natured. There’s no harm in her at all. Any father would be proud to have her as a daughter.”

“She doesn’t have a father,” George said.

“You know that’s not true.”

“Don’t tell me what I know.”

He left her there, her knees in the ashes.

That night, as they settled down for bed, Joy lay with Mary, holding her close. She whispered to her as the child drifted in and out of slumber, told her about the outside, about cars and buses and villages and towns and cities. About dances and picture houses and music and books. She whispered promises to her that some day soon they would walk free of this place.

Soon, Joy said, very soon.

As Noreen extinguished the lamp, she caught Joy’s gaze with her own. Joy would not look away until the darkness swallowed them all.

33: Mary

33: Mary