The man almost ran to open the door for her. ‘Don’t worry about it, madam. Perhaps you can come back another day when the child is better?’

‘Yes, of course. Goodbye for now.’ Once out in the icy air Maddie kept her arm about Ruby’s shoulders until she heard the door of the shop close behind the jeweller, then lifting her skirts, she told Ruby, ‘Run!’

It was all Ruby could do to keep up with her and they didn’t stop until the shop was far behind them. Maddie hailed a passing cab then and once they were inside and it was rattling on its way she waited until she had got her breath back and grinned. ‘Well done. You were very convincing.’

Ruby looked at her dubiously. ‘But why did you ask me to do that? I’ve never fainted in my life.’

Maddie stared at her for a moment before fumbling in her fur muff and pulling something out of it. ‘This is why.’ She held up a sparkling ring that glinted in the light coming in from the grimy windows and Ruby gasped. It had a large green, square-cut central stone surrounded by a halo of diamonds.

‘B-but isn’t that one of the rings the jeweller took from the window for you to look at?’ she asked in a voice that came out as little more than a squeak.

Maddie grinned. ‘It is indeed, and if I’m not very much mistaken it will fetch a pretty penny when I sell it on. The central emerald is quite magnificent.’

‘But isn’t that stealing?’

‘I suppose it is, but that jeweller could easily afford to lose it.’ Maddie tossed her head. ‘Do you have any idea what the markup is on jewellery they sell to the public? The jewellers make at least three-quarters more than they are worth, so what does it matter to them if the odd item goes astray?’

She showed no remorse whatsoever for what she had done and Ruby realised in that instant that this was probably not the first time she had done it. ‘But surely there was no need for us to come all this way when where you live is surrounded by jewellery shops?’

‘My dear naive girl.’ Maddie laughed. A harsh laugh that didn’t reach her eyes as she studied the ring more closely. ‘The first thing you have to learn in this trade is that you never work too close to home, I could be recognised. The second thing is that we all have to live, be it by fair means or foul. The food you eat, the coal that warms the house, everything has a price, and so I do whatever I have to to ensure that we all live well. Is that so very wrong?’