But Francis was enchanted. He could not stop staring at her. He knew that this was bad strategy, but he could not stop. To hell with strategy, if it came to that. And yet, no … this was obviously no case for simple grovelling. A girl like that would only laugh if one grovelled. Probably she was always laughing at young men, crowds of them, hordes of them, some of them with motorcycles, earning two or three pounds a week, men of twenty, even of twenty-three or four, perhaps. Anyone, no matter how old, would be only too thankful to get a girl like that. And at any moment the bus might start, and there would be no excuse at all for speaking to her, and she would get up and leave the bus and he would never see her again.

A frightful pang shook him at the thought.

But here the large woman in the little hat the colour of mud said something which gave him an opportunity that seemed to fall straight from heaven.

‘Aren’t you afraid, dear, coming down ’ere all by yourself?’ said the large woman ghoulishly to Toby. ‘I should be if I was you.’

‘Afraid what of?’

‘Narsty men,’ said the large woman, lowering her voice so that the conductor should not hear. ‘There’s some very rough characters round ’ere, they say. I’m a stranger ’ere meself; I live up Aldgate. Oo, I wouldn’t come down ’ere at night not for anythink, I wouldn’t.’

‘You needn’t worry,’ said the conductor, suddenly winking at Francis. ‘She’d be all right, wouldn’t she, son?’

The large woman pretended not to hear him.

‘I shan’t be down here very late,’ said Toby practically, ‘so why worry? I’m all right. I can look after meself. ’Sides, me cousin Stan is goin’ to be there, most likely. He’ll take me home on his motorbike.’

Francis, who had made up his mind to offer her his protection to her grandmother’s front door, became miserably jealous.

‘Oh, so long as you got somebody …’ said the large woman disappointedly. ‘That’s all right, then.’

‘Even if I hadn’t,’ said Toby valiantly, ‘I’d be all right.’

And she directed a bright, not at all bashful look at Francis. It could not be called an encouraging look. It seemed to say yes, I know you admire me, but I’m not having any, thank you. It was not exactly a haughty look; it recognized his existence but it warned him that there was nothing doing.

But Francis was not easily snubbed by young women, even ones as delicious as this one was. He had been looking for her for nearly a year, and he was certainly not going to lose her without a struggle. His experiences, too, with the flowerqueens had proved to him that even the most outwardly intimidating young girls were often secretly yielding and gracious. He would not insult Toby by comparing her with the flowerqueens, but there was just a chance that she might turn out to be kinder than she seemed.