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‘All right, girl,’ he said ‘All right now All right’ As his mate pulled the man away from her, he closed his broad forearms around Frances’s collarbone and pulled her back, until the spanner aving futilely in the air

Tims’s mate released the man who, too shocked or perhaps too inebriated to react, fell like a stone The noise of the engines was deafening, a never-ending ti, yet even over this the sound his headthud, like that of a watermelon when it is dropped to the floor

Irene shrieked

Tio of Frances and shoved the ht have suspected, to inflict further da soirls who, until then, had been whispering together ran off, hands pressed to their faces

Avice was shaking Tiet up, daun to haul Jean away

Frances was standing, legs hip-width apart, the spanner loose in her fingers, shaking convulsively She was possibly unaware that she eeping

‘We should call soy in the air Her breath eed in short bursts, as if, even as an observer, she had been overfilled with adrenaline

‘I don’tI’

It was then that they caught sight of the wo on theon here?’ Scraped-back dark hair, large bosom She was still twenty feet from them

Ti to him, put a hand to his elbow, then the htened, ran a hand through his short, straw-coloured hair He looked at Margaret, as if he had only just noticed she was there, his eyes wide and strained, his hand stillinvoluntarily He shook his head, as if to say soise perhaps And then she was there, in front of theulatory air e on here?’

At first she didn’t see to s, Avice saere looped round her knees

‘Bit of an accident,’ said Ti bloodied hands on his trousers He did not look at the wo it out’ He mouthed the words as much as spoke thearet, was briefly distracted by Margaret’s belly ‘What are you girls doing down here?’

She waited for an answer No one spoke Beside her, Avice realised, Irene’s hand was pressed to her chest, clutching a handkerchief, in the manner of a consumptive heine Her social assurance and confidence had deserted her and hera little open

When she turned back Tims had disappeared The injured man now sat lopsidedly on the floor, his knees drawn up to his chest

‘You do know there are grave penalties for being in the men’s area?’

There was a heavy silence The officer bent down, took in the state of the man, the fact that the other had vanished Then she saw Jean ‘Oh, oodness Please don’t tell aret

The woain ‘The captain will have to be informed’

‘Why? It wasn’t us’ Avice had yelled to be heard over the engines ‘We only ca to her feet She stood between the woet her back to her room’

‘I can’t do that I’ve been told to report any parties, any drinking, anymisdemeanours I’ll need all your nalance at Irene ‘It’s only Jean who’s disgraced herself!’

‘Jean?’

‘Jean Castleforth,’ said Avice, desperately ‘We really are nothing to do with it We just came down because we heard she was in trouble’

‘Jean Castleforth,’ said the woman ‘And yours?’

‘But I haven’t so much as looked at another man! I don’t even like alcohol!’

‘I said we’ll take her home,’ said Frances ‘I’nore this? Look at her!’

‘She’s just--’

‘She’s no better than a brass, is what she is!’

‘How dare you?’ Frances was surprisingly tall when she stood straight Her features had sharpened Her fists, Avice noted, were balled ‘How dare you?’

‘Are you telling me they forced her to coainst the smell of alcohol on Jean’s breath

‘Why don’t we all just--’

Quivering with rage, Frances turned on Avice ‘Get out of here! Just get away from me And listen, you – you women’s officer, or whatever you are – you can’t report her for this, you hear? It wasn’t her fault’

‘My orders are to report any misdeot her drunk andabused her She’s sixteen!’