Sidney arrived at her side, puffing and gasping for air. ‘Don’t touch him, Daisy. He might have died of some terrible disease.’

‘We can’t just leave him like this, Uncle.’ Daisy bent down and with a huge effort managed to turn the man on his back. Despite the mud that caked his face she could see that he was young, perhaps in his mid-twenties. ‘We need to get him out of the water,’ she said urgently. ‘We don’t know how long he’s been lying here, but he’s still breathing.’

Together they managed to pull him clear of the creek and Daisy took her hanky from her pocket to wipe the mud from his face. ‘We need to get help, Uncle. He’s too heavy for us to move.’

‘You go, Daisy. You’re quicker on your feet than I am, and he might wake up and become violent. He could be a drunk who’s fallen in the water on his way home. Go to the pub and tell Abel Perkins what’s happened. He’ll know the fellow, like as not.’

‘All right. I’ll be as quick as I can.’

Daisy picked up her skirts and raced back the way they had come. She burst into the pub and made her way between the tables to the bar where a portly man was polishing tankards with a grubby-looking cloth. ‘Are you Mr Perkins?’ she asked breathlessly.

‘That’s me, dearie.’ He looked her up and down. ‘We don’t get many young ladies in here,’ he added, chuckling. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘There’s a man lying on the river-bank. He’s unconscious and my uncle and I need help to move him.’

‘Your uncle? You must be the young lady from London then?’

‘I’m Daisy Marshall. Could you help us, please?’

‘It’s probably some vagrant who’s lost his way in the dark. Dare say he was drunk. I dunno how many times we’ve fished a corpse out of the creek.’ Abel lifted the hatch in the counter and beckoned to two men who were huddled round the fire. ‘Give us a hand, lads. We’ve got another drowned rat.’

The men downed their pints and stood up. ‘Who is it this time, Abel?’

‘We’ll find out shortly.’ Abel opened the door and a gust of cold air drew smoke from the chimney into the taproom. ‘Best wait here, miss.’

Daisy did not argue but she followed them anyway, and when they reached the casualty she was relieved to see that he was attempting to sit up.

‘Well, I’ll be damned,’ Abel said, chuckling. ‘Look who it is.’

‘Can’t tell for all that there mud.’

‘It’s that Jay Fox. I wonder what sort of trouble he’s got hisself into this time.’ Abel heaved Jay to his feet. ‘Let’s get you home, boy.’

‘Wait a minute.’ Daisy laid her hand on Abel’s arm. ‘His mother and father are unwell. You can’t take him home in that state.’

‘Don’t interfere, Daisy,’ Sidney said in a low voice. ‘It’s none of our business.’