‘All right – see you later,’ Margaret said. She hurried back towards Chain Street, head bowed. The mizzling rain was swelling to fat drops, somewhere between rain and sleet. To her annoyance she realized her left boot was leaking, the wet seeping round her toes, and she walked even faster, thinking of chilblains.

When she was almost home, she suddenly realized that someone had fallen into step with her: chestnut-brown boots, a thick brown overcoat. She looked up, startled.

‘I saw you from the other side of the road,’ Philip Tallis said. His eyes looked down at her from under his bowler hat with their usual warmth, though as ever she saw his shy uncertainty. ‘Have you been taking your sister her dinner?’

‘Yes,’ Margaret said, narrowing her eyes against the relentless wet blowing into their faces. She was just going to tell him about the woman and her baby, but realized it was not really a suitable subject to talk to a man about. The wind and sleet made it hard to keep her head up. So she said nothing else, which felt inadequate.

They walked on a few paces, dodging the busy crowds and swerving round basket carriages. The gutters were filling with muddy water. They turned into Chain Street and along towards the respective premises of Watts and Tallis.

‘Margaret,’ Philip Tallis said, rather abruptly, whether through haste or shyness she was not sure. ‘Come in with me a moment, will you? I’ve something to show you.’

‘All right,’ she agreed, used to entering number twenty-four now, so much so that she gave it no thought. As they went up the step, it suddenly occurred to her that Daisy was away at school and she felt a tingle of excitement mixed with apprehension.

It was a relief to get inside, away from the big, slushy drops. Voices could be heard from the front office but the door was almost closed and there was no sign of anyone in the hall. Seeming worried that someone might come out and accost him, Philip Tallis led her quickly to his room and closed the door, throwing his hat on to the table. Margaret removed her own as well and laid it on the back of the chair. The fire was alight and the room warm and welcoming, but for the first time since she had stood with Philip Tallis on the front step that dark morning, they were completely alone. She felt a pulse of misgiving. She had spent far more time alone with Charles and she had put all her trust in him, until he suddenly turned into someone terrifying, as if the very devil had entered him. She had always felt safe with Philip, but now she could not help her sudden misgivings. Her attention was quickly caught, however, by something on the workbench, gleaming in the dull light from the window, and she was immediately drawn to go and look.