‘Whoever.’ Jack wouldn’t give this nosy bugger an inch. Besides, if anybody did come here after him, it would only be Amy, because nobody else knew where he was.

As he went upstairs, it crossed his mind that, somehow, Frank might have learned of his whereabouts. ‘If that scum comes after me, I’ll be ready for him,’ he muttered grimly. ‘Happen it might be best to have it out with him once and for all!’ But he didn’t want Amy caught in the middle. To his mind, she’d suffered enough at Frank’s hands.

As she hurried from the tram stop, her legs as weak as water, Amy also had Frank on her mind. ‘What if he finds us?’ She was talking aloud, oblivious to those who turned to stare at her. ‘What if he comes after us? Oh, dear God, he’d kill us both with his bare hands!’ For all his violence, she had never really been afraid of Frank. But now, as she imagined the consequences of her and Jack being together, the fear was like a hard fist inside her.

Outside the Darwen Hotel, she paused, glancing up and down, terrified in case she’d been followed. ‘Pull yourself together, Amy, lass,’ she told herself. ‘How could he know?’ Even so, she was frantic. Happen it might be best if she turned round and went straight home.

Instinctively, she turned, before his voice called her back.

‘Amy!’

Closing her eyes she gave silent thanks. When he placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her towards him, the tears broke loose and ran unheeded down her face. ‘Oh Jack, I didn’t know what to do,’ she sobbed. ‘I just didn’t know what to do.’

She fell into his arms and he folded her to him. ‘It’s all right now,’ he said. ‘I have you safe.’

Taking her inside, he collected his portmanteau from the barman. ‘How much do I owe you?’ he asked.

‘Four pound ten shilling.’

Counting out the money, Jack noticed the barman staring at Amy. ‘Hmh! Don’t blame you for waiting for that one,’ the man said cheekily. ‘She’s not a bad-looking sort.’ Winking at Jack, he grabbed up the cash and rang it into the till.

Leaning over the bar, Jack caught him by the scruff of his neck. ‘You’re talking about a lady!’ he warned. ‘What’s more, you never saw her,’ he said threateningly. ‘Do I make myself clear?’

Finding it difficult to talk with his shirt collar pulled tight round his neck, the barman nodded.

Letting him loose, Jack took another ten-shilling note from his wallet and placed it on the bar. ‘If anybody comes looking… you never saw her.’

The man looked at Jack’s fiery eyes and his clenched fist. ‘Anything you say, sir,’ he said nervously. ‘I didn’t see nothing and nobody.’

Jack nodded. ‘I know your face, and I know where to find you, should your tongue run away with you. Remember that, and keep your mouth shut!’

Leaving the barman with the impression that Jack Mason was a man to be reckoned with, he took Amy by the arm and together they walked away from the pub and into a cafe on the corner of Rosamund Street. Here he asked the girl behind the counter for two full English breakfasts.