Imelda felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle at the mention of his name. She had tried not to think about him too much since the Christmas party at Larkins, but with little success. When she closed her eyes, his face appeared in the blackness like a magic-lantern slide, and his voice would whisper to her in the wilderness between sleep and waking. But with the prospect of his return in person, Imelda recalled the words of Jeanie’s imperious friend and their barely veiled threat concerned her. Vivienne was little more than a spoilt brat and as a woman, Imelda was more than a match for her. But Vivienne’s wealth gave her an arbitrary advantage, which, when coupled with her ruthless sense of entitlement, it would be foolish to ignore. And then there was the man himself. How could such a brief encounter have made such a lasting impression on her? He was trouble, she was sure of that, but her instinct and her cards told her that he was also a good man, and she trusted both. Which was just as well, because she couldn’t deny that she was excited to see him again and she was damned if she was going to let Vivienne keep her away.

‘Come along, Jeanie. Are you going to walk me back to prison? Miss Sharp will be whinging all afternoon if I’m late back for her intolerable shorthand class.’

Imelda hadn’t noticed Vivienne seated at the table where she and Jeanie had been eating their lunch and now she had joined them at the counter to reclaim her friend. Vivienne peered over her designer sunglasses at Grisha and wrinkled her nose.

‘Isn’t it a little unhygienic to allow dogs into a café?’

Imelda refused to be provoked. She smiled at Vivienne and handed Grisha half a slice of his bacon sandwich. Vivienne took Jeanie’s arm and swept out of the café without another word. Once Vivienne’s back was turned, Diamond flapped her away with her tea towel.

‘And bloody good riddance, Miss Knightsbridge Knickers!’ She leaned over the counter and spoke to Grisha. ‘I’d much rather have you in here than that snooty cow any day.’

‘Now, now. That’s no way to speak about a customer.’ Jack turned from the frying pan where he was turning sausages and wagged his finger in warning at his wife. ‘But in her case I’m prepared to make an exception.’

Diamond sighed. ‘We had hoped that when Jeanie left the secretarial college to start at Larkins, she might lose touch with that wretched girl,’ she told Imelda. ‘But she’s started meeting Jeanie here for lunch. Our Jeanie’s a lovely girl and I can’t help thinking that she’s being used. I’m not sure why or how, but I’ve just got a bad feeling.’