Roger was leaning against his stall with his arms folded, eyeing up a young lady walking along the other side of the road. That’s when he realised Roger wasn’t referring to the fur stole but to the woman.

The woman seemed to sense she was being stared at, and turned to look at Roger before flashing him a sultry smile. It was no surprise to George. He was used to seeing girls almost drop at Roger’s feet. He just hoped the man would keep his hands off Sarah.

The morning whizzed by, and George patted his money belt, pleased with his takings. He’d been busy so hadn’t had a lot of time to think about Sarah, but as he stretched his back and looked around the market, he felt his pulse quicken when he saw her walking towards him. He thought she looked different, smarter maybe, or did she have a new hairstyle?

As she got closer, he couldn’t help but smile broadly. There was no hiding how pleased he was to see her. He wanted to open his arms and for her to fall into them, and to feel the soft caress of her lips on his. Instead, Tommy came gleefully running up to him and gave him a warm hug. Sarah said hello, but George’s heart sank when he noticed she was looking over his shoulder, probably searching for Roger.

‘I was getting worried about you. I thought you was going to bring me some gear to sell?’ George said, hoping to grab her full attention.

‘Erm … yes … I was … I am,’ Sarah replied. ‘I’ve been looking for stuff, but I just don’t know where to start. Truth is, I’m seriously giving some thought to going back to look on the Thames banks.’

‘Can’t say I blame you considering what you’ve found there before. I bet there’s all sorts down in that mud. ’Ere, I’ve got a new nickname for you – the mudlark,’ George said with a snicker.

‘The mudlark, what sort of name is that?’ Sarah asked.

‘It was given to kids who used to scavenge on the banks when Queen Vic was on the throne. You want to be careful though, ’cos I’m pretty sure it’s against the law now.’

‘Well, I don’t suppose the police are going to be bothered about me picking up a few bits and pieces. It’s unlikely that I’ll find any more jewellery, but when I was down there before, I did see a few clay pipes and some funny-looking shells. I had a nose in the fishmonger’s yesterday and saw them in there – oysters. The shells are proper ugly outside but they’re ever so pretty on the inside. I was thinking maybe I could fashion some jewellery from them.’