‘You said you had something important to tell me.’ Jay raised his hand to hail a passing hansom cab. ‘Irongate Stairs, cabby.’ Jay hoisted Daisy onto the seat before she had a chance to argue and climbed in to sit beside her. He closed the doors and banged on the roof. The cab lurched forward, leaving Daisy little alternative but to sit tight.

‘So you’ve kidnapped me again,’ she said breathlessly. ‘What now?’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll pay the cabby to take you back to wherever it is you’re lodging.’ He turned to give her a searching look. ‘Why are you back in London, anyway? Guppy said you’re a nurse. Is it true?’

‘I’m a probationer, but I spent the entire summer in Little Creek looking after the victims of cholera.’

His expression changed subtly. ‘I did hear something about sickness being rife in the village.’

‘And you didn’t think to check that your family were all right?’

‘How could I? I’m a wanted man, thanks to the squire.’

‘Are you still involved with free trade, or whatever you call smuggling in your circles?’

‘We have to earn our living, but it’s getting harder and harder. To hear the old fellows talk they could make a fortune from silk or spirits, but with the Government lowering the tax on imported goods there’s not much incentive, and the revenue men are better organised.’ He hesitated, turning his head away. ‘That’s enough about me. I was worried when I heard of the cholera outbreak. Are my mother and sisters all right? And young Jack, of course.’

‘They escaped the disease but Lemuel wasn’t so fortunate.’

‘He’s dead?’

‘I’m afraid so.’

‘He hated me and the feeling was mutual.’

‘The squire also passed away. Quite recently, as it happened. In fact he was the last to succumb to cholera.’

‘I’m glad. I won’t pretend differently. The old devil deserved to suffer, if only for the way he treated my mother.’

‘This is what I want to tell you, Jay.’ Daisy clung to the sides of the cab as it rattled over the slippery cobblestones. The snow was swirling around the vehicle, enveloping them in a cold white cloud and an eerie silence, deadening the sound of the horse’s hoofs and the rumble of the wheels.

‘I’m listening, although I doubt if anything you could tell me about that man would come as a surprise. You didn’t give in and marry him after all, did you?’

‘No, but your mother did. After all these years the squire behaved like a gentleman.’

‘So she owns the manor house? She deserves nothing less.’

‘No, Jay. The squire made a new will on his deathbed, acknowledging you as his son and he left everything to you. You’re a very wealthy man now.’

‘That can’t be true.’

‘It is, I promise you. I was there at the end.’

‘Then I have you to thank. Ma would never be bold enough to stand up to the squire.’

‘I helped, of course, but she said her piece and the squire decided to do the right thing, probably for the first time in his whole life.’