Mary snorted. ‘I know nothing, Crows. School was a bit, you know, difficult. When you say “special knowledge”, what you mean?’

‘Scientists. Engineers. People who can recreate the machines of their world in this one.’

‘Is that sort of thing important?’ she asked. Dalip was just a kid like her; how much did he actually know?

‘It is one reason why you were being hunted by the wolfman.’

‘I … not me. There’s this one boy, he’s a university student. Something sciencey, I think.’

‘Did the wolfman take him?’

‘Dalip stopped them from getting me. So yes. Not before they beat the crap out of him though.’ She chewed at a fingernail. ‘What are they going to do with him?’

‘It is difficult to tell,’ said Crows. ‘This … boy. He must be very intelligent, yes?’

‘I guess so. A lot more kids go to university now than, than in your day. But, he’ll be one of the smart ones.’

‘This portal you came through, what year was it?’

‘Twenty twelve.’ She tutted. ‘I’ll miss the fucking Olympics. I love all that running and shit. Watching it, at least.’

Crows sucked air through the gap in his front teeth. ‘That is late. Very late.’

‘Does that make it worse?’

‘It might do. Who else?’

‘We were cleaners on the Underground. You know what the Underground is, right?’

‘Yes, we had that,’ said Crows.

‘So I don’t know. I guess if you’re a cleaner, it’s because you can’t get a better job elsewhere. There’s Stan – Stanislav – he was with Dalip, but he’s just a workman, I think, laying train track.’

‘Navvy, they used to be called.’ Crows unfolded himself and stepped out into the sunshine, shrugging off his cloak and standing there, warming his spare frame. ‘The question is, will she know what she has in your boy?’

Mary stretched her legs out in front of her, and compared his clothes to hers. Obviously, he hadn’t come through from the nineteen thirties, wearing trousers that ended mid-calf and a plain linen smock.

‘So what happens to people who come here? Where do they live? Where is everyone?’