When he smiled his eyes twinkled with mischief and Ruby noticed that they were a lovely grey colour. His hair was dark and inclined to curl but he was painfully thin and only now did she see just how shabby his clothes were.

Now that she was seated, Mrs Petty was trying to remove her boot and all thoughts of the new friend she had just made flew out of the window as she gasped with pain.

‘Well, would you just look at the state o’ that!’ Mrs Petty tutted as she stared down at her swollen foot. ‘Yer don’t do anything by halves, do yer, bab? Why, you’ll be off this for days. Your ankle is already double the size it should be. Let’s get it bound up tight. There ain’t a lot more yer can do for sprains unfortunately. Nell run up an’ fetch me one of the older sheets from the airing cupboard, would you?’

Nell hurried off to do as she was told as Mrs Petty gently bathed Ruby’s foot in warm water. When she came back, Mrs Petty began to tear the sheet into strips warning Ruby, ‘This is goin’ to hurt like hell so try an’ be brave, there’s a good girl.’

Ruby gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as Mrs Petty tightly bound her ankle. When it was done, she went to fetch a stool, telling her, ‘Now you need to keep your foot upright.’

Maddie meanwhile was pacing up and down the kitchen and unable to wait a second longer she asked, ‘So how did the visit go?’

Fishing in her coat pocket Ruby handed her the bag and Maddie immediately spilled the contents onto the table, gasping with delight when the stolen jewels glistened in the light from the oil lamp.