She jogged the glass on the table and slopped half of the contents on the floor, where it soaked into the sawdust. That should do it. Satisfied that a half-empty pot was more convincing than an untouched glass, Philomena waited.

The girl came round again. “Drink up, then, me darlin’,” she encouraged. Philomena raised the glass in salute and kept her mouth firmly closed. From here, she could see everyone who entered or left. Time dragged. She wished she had thought to bring a book, to help the time pass. After an hour, she was sleepy with boredom. Perhaps she had made a mistake. Maybe Joseph did not come here regularly, after all. Still, she would wait a while longer. The room was warm and, now that she was used to them, the smells of beer and pickles had become friendly.

At last, a familiar voice cursed outside the door. Heart pounding, Philomena sat back in the shadows, keeping her face down as Joseph lurched in along with the same two cronies, jostling for a seat.

“I thought you wasn’t coming, tonight.” The serving girl leaned close to Joseph. “You ain’t been in for two days.”

“Looking for me, was yer?” Joseph grabbed the front of the girl’s dress. “Let’s ’ave a look at those little apples then, shall we?”

Philomena waited for the girl to slap Joseph’s face, but she just laughed. “Same old Joseph,” she leered.

“Give us a kiss, darlin’.”

“Not now. Later on, maybe. Or maybe not.” She flounced away. Joseph slapped her behind and cackled.

The three newcomers downed two mugs of beer each in quick succession. They talked quietly. Philomena had to listen hard at first to catch their words. As the beer took effect, though, they got louder, not caring who heard them. They boasted of deals that they’d done that day. Philomena did not believe half the tales of making £1 each. Five shillings was more likely, and that would be a good day’s profit. She wondered what they were selling, and what had happened to the tailoring business Joseph had inherited. Probably, it had failed. He had no idea how to run an honest establishment.

Joseph hawked to clear his throat, and his cronies leaned in. “I’ve got a job on. A big one. I’ll be out of town a few days, but I’ll be well paid.”

“What’s the game, Jo?” one of the cronies asked, but Joseph shook his head.