Briony shook her head at him. ‘Look, Mr Goldstern, listen to me. We’ll sort something out, all right?’

‘Huh! What, my little love? I am finished. I can’t even scrape up enough to start my business again. I’m at rock bottom. I have Vita and her children to look after. Her eldest son is fifteen now. I have so much responsibility and I haven’t the capital. I’m even behind on the rent for this place!’

Vita walked into the room with the tea as her father broke down crying. Placing the tray on his desk, she went to him, taking him into her arms.

‘It’s pointless beating him. He can’t pull your money out of thin air. It’s been preying on his mind for days.’

Briony began to pour out the tea. Giving everyone a cup, she smiled at Vita. ‘Sit down and let’s try and make some sense out of this. We’ll look for Isaac, see if we can recoup any of your money, right? He’s the main holder of the debt now so if he’s still in the smoke, he’s as good as crippled. I’ll arrange for three hundred quid to be delivered here first thing in the morning. You owe me then, Mr Goldstern, not Tommy. You pay me back at a pony a week, restart your business from scratch. I’ll want a twenty per cent return on me dosh. What about that?’

Solly looked at the girl in front of him and had a sudden vivid memory of her father. Paddy Cavanagh had even brought in his children’s boots to pawn for a drink. He was a waster, a schmuck, yet he had bred this beautiful girl with a kind heart. She had known only poverty and hardship. His own daughter, who had had everything a girl could want, had taken up with Isaac. Solly had bought and paid for him so she would once more have everything she wanted. It was a strange world when the girl with the least became more of a woman than the girl with everything.

His eyes were wet again. Unable to talk, he grabbed her small hand in his and kissed it.

Vita sipped her tea, her eyes watching the changing expressions on Tommy Lane’s face. She guessed, shrewdly, that Tommy wasn’t at all pleased at having his five grand scrubbed in such a cavalier fashion by Briony Cavanagh. But she also guessed that Briony generally got what she wanted, regardless of who she upset in the process.

Twenty minutes later, in Tommy’s car on their way to Regents Park, Briony took the brunt of his tongue.