‘Yes, unfortunately I do.’ Daisy painted a smile on her face as the couple approached. ‘It’s Jonah Sawkins. He used to work for my uncle.’ Her first instinct was to run, but Jonah had seen her and he quickened his pace, limping towards them with his odd shuffling gait.

‘Well, I never! Fancy seeing you here, Miss Daisy.’ Jonah came to a halt and patted Ivy’s hand as it rested in the crook of his arm. ‘Might I introduce you to my friend Miss Price?’

‘How do you do, Miss Price?’ Daisy eyed the young woman critically. Even Ivy’s best friend could not honestly describe her as pretty, but surely she could do better than Jonah Sawkins? There was, as Aunt Eleanora always said ‘no accounting for taste’. Maybe Jonah had hidden depths, although she could not think of one redeeming quality.

‘Pleased to meet you, miss.’ Ivy seized Daisy’s hand and shook it. ‘Are you going to lodge here, too?’

‘Yes, she is, Ivy.’ Minnie pushed past Jonah, who was leering at her in a way that was all too familiar to Daisy. ‘Come on, Daisy,’ Minnie added, wrapping her shawl more tightly around her shoulders. ‘We haven’t time to stand around and gossip. Come on, Ivy.’ She marched off in the direction of Whitechapel Road with a reluctant Ivy in tow.

Daisy was about to follow when Jonah barred her way. ‘I’ve done well since your uncle retired. I’m manager now, in total charge of the shop.’

‘That’s good,’ Daisy said vaguely. ‘I’m sure you’ll make a success of whatever you do.’

‘You should have been nicer to me,’ Jonah hissed as she attempted to dodge him. ‘You could still be living in your old home. I’d have treated you like a lady.’

‘Never,’ Daisy said firmly. ‘Let me pass, Jonah.’

‘Don’t think I’ve forgiven you for the way you treated me, Daisy Marshall.’ Jonah stood aside, his face contorted in a spiteful grin.

Daisy chose to ignore his last remark, although she could feel him staring at her as she hurried after Minnie, who had parted from Ivy at the corner of the street. ‘Ivy needs to be careful,’ Daisy said breathlessly. ‘Jonah isn’t the sort of man to treat a girl well.’

‘I don’t know what she sees in him. I had to walk on or I might have said something I would regret.’

‘He was my uncle’s assistant, and he’s not a nice man.’

‘Well, you’d better warn her. She won’t listen to me.’

‘I will, at the first opportunity. Anyway, there are more important things in life than Jonah Sawkins, and I’m very hungry.’

‘So am I. Let’s hope old Joe hasn’t sold all his pies or ham rolls.’

‘Where will we eat, if we can’t take food back to the lodging house?’

Minnie shot her a mischievous look. ‘There’s always St Mary’s churchyard, unless of course it’s raining, and then we have to smuggle the food in and make sure we don’t leave any crumbs. Mrs Wood is terrified of rats and mice, and for that reason she relies on the beast of Fieldgate Street.’