Laurel saw the desolation written on his face and realised she should end her silence. It wasn’t just that Grady had been affected but that now the truth was out, a truth so deeply personal to her, it was from her he should hear it. ‘I was never worried about anything happening in the village.’ She paused, letting her imagination sweep her back to that dark, cold night. ‘It wasn’t until I was between the swings and the pub car park that I saw people hanging out on a bench, drinking. I heard Amie Blunt’s voice and didn’t want her to see I was scared.’

‘Were you scared?’ He pushed back his hair, leaning forward as if braced to meet the facts, however unpalatable.

She shrugged. ‘Obviously. Amie was a bitch. But she wasn’t alone so I didn’t think she’d do more than get verbal. She did get verbal,’ she acknowledged. She found herself pulling at the front of her hoodie. ‘She said my … shape was revolting. She said that a lot, like I’d grown boobs on purpose and had to be reminded how disgusting they were. I ignored her. I thought I’d got past. But suddenly she was on my back like a monkey, pinning my arms. It was horrible, her clinging on to me like that. I fought back.’ Her breath was ragged at the remembered fear. The black night. The cruel laugher and the smell of cider. She described Mac joining in, Amie pulling up her clothes, her word tumbling over one another. ‘I was terrified, humiliated, mortified. Screaming.’ Her throat felt raw, as if the screaming had only just happened. ‘When Mac let go I ran home. Rea was still up so I sprinted upstairs, shouting about being desperate for the loo. She never saw the state I was in.’

‘How long—’ He cleared his throat and swallowed. He hadn’t shaved for a couple of days and the movement of his Adam’s apple was accentuated by dark stubble. ‘How long did Mac hold you for? After Amie had … done that.’

She shrugged, shaken anew by the storm of revived emotions.

‘Minutes?’ he pressed. ‘Hours? Seconds?’

‘Oh. Seconds,’ she said. ‘It seemed a long time. But he did let go.’

Grady rubbed his forehead as if wiping away sweat. ‘You didn’t think of going to the police? Without telling Rea, I mean. You were sixteen. They would have listened.’

She laughed without mirth. ‘Really? I wonder how many girls that age would report that to strangers. The only witnesses were Mac’s horrible mates! Mac and Amie would have denied it and Jonny and Ruben would have backed them up. I could even imagine them flipping the story and accusing me of flashing. And I’d walked across a field on my own in the dark. You’ve heard the phrase “asking for it”, haven’t you? It’s used against victims all the time.’