It hadn’t occurred to Tess that Harriet would punish the agency. Marjorie had been good to her, and she didn’t deserve to lose business. Tess knew she wasn’t a model worker. Two of her three previous placings hadn’t been successful either. The first office had been so eye-crossingly dull that she’d fallen asleep; the third so much sport, she’d ended up getting plastered during her lunch break. (That was another revelation about London. Although the Irish had a reputation for boozing, the English were devils for lunchtime drinking.)

Marjorie took a long breath. ‘I’m sorry, Tess, I can’t give you any more work.’

‘Oh, hell.’ Call her naive, but Tess hadn’t seen this coming. ‘Listen, I genuinely am sorry about Harriet. I’ll never speak out of turn again, I swear. And I can do the work. You know that, don’t you?’

‘I do, but that’s not the issue here.’

‘Please, Marjorie, I promise I’ll behave. I’ll keep my opinions to myself. I’ll get a proper night’s sleep. I’ll stick to lemonade. I’ll—’

‘No. You’re making me feel bad, but no. It’s more than my job’s worth. Remind me again, how old are you?’

‘Eighteen.’

‘That’s your problem, isn’t it?’

‘I’m not with you.’

‘You’re too young. You’ve got to get some of that craziness out of your system. Go and do something else, and when you’ve calmed down, come back to me.’

‘Will I come back in a couple of weeks?’

‘A couple of years, more like.’

‘You’re having me on.’

‘I truly am sorry, lovey,’ said Marjorie, ‘but I can’t afford to lose clients.’

Tess felt tears gathering in her eyes. She would have to leave before she made a fool of herself.

‘Fair play to you,’ said Tom, as he passed the joint to Tess. ‘That Harriet woman sounds like she needed putting in her place.’

‘It was fun while it lasted, all right. For once, though, I should probably have kept my thoughts to myself. I can’t afford to be without a job.’

Rain pecked against the sitting-room window, while the sky made ominous grumbling sounds. That was something else they didn’t get much of in Kilmitten: thunder and lightning. The bare bulb cast a dim light over the room. The dark purple sofa, which might have been fashionable twenty years earlier, added to the gloom. Fergal was at work. Tom had a rare evening off.