‘You look cold.’ And without waiting for a reply, Alfie took off his jacket and tried to wrap it round Shannon’s shoulders, but she scurried away, pushing herself back against the tree. ‘My name ain’t Oxfam, you know. I don’t need your skanky jacket.’

Alfie laughed. The jacket in question had cost him a couple of grand. At the thought of it, he laughed again, something he couldn’t remember doing for a long time. ‘Then why don’t you just tell me your name, and after that, I can buy you a cup of tea. You’ve made me laugh, which I can’t remember doing for a long time, so it’s the least I can do for you.’

Shannon scowled. ‘Am I some sort of fucking joke to you?’

Lighting up yet another cigarette, Alfie shook his head. ‘No, of course not. I like you, that’s all.’

‘Weirdo, you don’t even know me. You going to give me one of them or what?’ Shannon gestured to Alfie’s cigarettes. He handed her the box and with her dirty, bitten-down fingernails she grabbed one eagerly, putting it into her swollen mouth before allowing Alfie to light it for her.

‘So, are you going to let me buy you something to eat then?’

Shannon, feeling more at ease with this stranger, cocked her head as she looked at Alfie. ‘No, but you could give me a tenner.’

‘Why do you want a tenner?’

‘Cos I ain’t got one.’

Going into his pocket, Alfie pulled out a wad of money. He winked at her. ‘That’s a good enough reason as any. I like a person who can be straight.’

Amazed, Shannon said, ‘You’re really going to give me ten quid?’

‘Yeah, that’s what you asked for isn’t it?’

She looked at Alfie suspiciously. ‘I’m not giving you a blow job if that’s what you’re after; for starters I charge twenty quid, but anyhow, my mouth hurts too much to do it.’

Alfie shook his head sadly. ‘No, darlin’, that’s not what I’m looking for … I tell you what, why don’t you take this.’

‘Fifty quid!’ Shannon looked at the money and then at Alfie, then back at the money before saying, ‘You really are weird, mate. Is this how you get off, get your kicks?’

Alfie laughed again. ‘It certainly isn’t.’

‘But no one gives money away for nothing.’

It was Alfie’s turn to shrug. ‘I do. Go on, darlin’, just take it.’