‘I can see you like her. Well, I promise to be very, very nice, unless she upsets me. I’ll hear her out. But if she tries to cross me, I don’t care how big she is, I’ll wrap her from one end of London to the other! I ain’t in the mood for fun and games at the moment.

‘Now, you find all the cutters in town, and see if they’re working for Bolger. I’m going to see him, but first I want to know exactly how much muscle he’s got. He’s more slippery than a greased eel, but he’s made two bad mistakes. One, he touched something of mine, and two, the bastard has the audacity to think he can frighten me. Me, Briony Cavanagh! Well, he’s got the shock of his fucking life coming to him. I’ll pay him back tenfold for Ginelle, and for taking the piss.’

Tommy looked at her with awe and a tinge of respect. Never before had he seen her like this, and much as it troubled him, he was happy to know she would always look after herself and her own.

‘We’ll get him, Bri. We as in us.’ His voice was low.

Briony went to him then and he pulled her into his arms. ‘Yes, Tommy boy. We’ll get him.’ She looked up into his face and tried to smile. ‘But I’ll cut the bastard, you owe me that. I’ll be the one to cut him.’

Tommy nodded almost imperceptibly. It was what he had expected.

Nellie Deakins had grown big over the years. Now she was ponderously fat. Her neck, which had once been long and smooth, sported several chins. Her eyes were embedded in the fat of her face. She looked constantly as if she had just run a considerable distance, though she rarely left her chair. She puffed herself through each day, and even her girls had begun remarking on the unsavoury smell emanating from her.