As they sat in Lena’s kitchen, and looked at Lena’s only daughter, Ria knew she had to help this girl in every way she could, for Lena, as well as for Tania. One thing Ria knew for sure was that whoever was responsible for the girl’s condition had taken advantage of her; the Tania she knew had been greener than the grass of Ireland. To her knowledge, she had never been kissed, let alone anything else. Ria had racked her brains, and she could not think of one lad who had been sniffing round her; in fact, the girl had never even had a boyfriend that she was aware of.

Ria leaned forward in her chair, and asked gently, ‘Were you forced in any way, Tania? Did someone make you do anything you didn’t want to?’

Tania just wanted them both to go away and leave her alone. She was pregnant! She had only done it once! If she told the truth, there would be murder done, and her child would never have a chance. It would suffer from the very start. No, this was a secret she would have to take to the grave. She shook her head.

‘Look, child, you have to talk to us at some point. We just want to help you. Your dad will want to know, your brothers will want to know – you can’t hide something like this.’

Tania still didn’t answer.

Ria sighed in exasperation. ‘Do you want to get rid of it, lovely? No one would ever know, I promise. If that’s what you want, then we can arrange it.’

Theresa was more shocked than she thought possible; she was completely against abortion, believing that a child was a gift from God Himself. All the same, she would stand back and keep quiet, if that was what this poor girl wanted. If her suspicions were correct, it would not augur well for any of them if the truth should come out. But it was Tania’s choice – whether she wanted to name him or not was her prerogative.

Tania shook her head once more. ‘I can’t, Auntie Ria. I can’t get rid of it. All that I can say is, I’m sorry.’

Theresa was glad that her granddaughter was going to keep the child, even though she was sorry for her because life as she knew it was over. Like her, she would be a young mum and, like her, she would be tied to her child for the rest of her life. It was history repeating itself.

Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Four

Peter Bailey could see his brother’s face out of the corner of his eye, and he knew he believed everything that Danny was saying.