‘Thank you,’ Daisy said breathlessly.

‘I shan’t be seeing Toby for a while because I’m going home for Christmas, but I hope we meet again, Miss Marshall.’ Nick placed her valise on the floor.

‘I’m sure we will. Anyway, thank you for your help.’ Daisy turned her head at the sound of footsteps on the bare boards and her heart sank when she saw her uncle’s clerk scurrying towards them with his peculiar crab-like gait.

‘Miss Daisy, what are you doing here?’ Jonah Sawkins cast a hostile glance at Nick.

Daisy had disliked Sawkins from the moment they first met, but her generous uncle had rescued Jonah from the workhouse and trained him to be his clerk. Sidney Marshall believed that there was good in everyone, and he would not have a word said against Jonah. Daisy knew her uncle’s clerk to be sly and devious, and she was tempted to snub him now, but Jonah Sawkins had a way of getting his own back for any slight, real or imagined, and she held her tongue.

‘Would you be kind enough to take my valise upstairs, Jonah?’ Daisy turned to Nick. ‘Thank you once again for your help. I hope I didn’t delay you, too much?’

‘Not at all. I’ve just come off duty at the hospital, so no harm done. Anyway, it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Marshall.’ Nick gave Sawkins a sympathetic smile. ‘The bag is rather heavy. Perhaps you’d rather I took it upstairs?’

Daisy held her breath. She knew that Sawkins was sensitive about the abnormal curvature of his upper spine and his legs bowed by rickets in childhood. His deformity and his early years spent in the workhouse seemed to have twisted his personality, but although he had had a poor start in life Daisy had realised some time ago that Sawkins was ambitious, and she suspected that he could be ruthless if challenged.

He hefted the valise onto his bent shoulders, shooting a malicious glance at Nick. ‘I can manage on me own, ta very much.’ He hobbled behind the counter and opened a door leading to a flight of stairs. The red Turkey carpet glowed like a hot coal in the dim light, and Sawkins negotiated the stairs with surprising speed.

‘He’s been here for years,’ Daisy said by way of an excuse for his rudeness.

‘Yes, I believe Toby has mentioned him in the past. Anyway, I must be going.’

Nick let himself out into the street and Daisy raised her hand in farewell, but he had already disappeared into the swirling snow. She closed the door and was enveloped by the all-too-familiar smell of leather and dubbin, which she only noticed when she had been absent for a while. She was about to go upstairs when Sawkins appeared behind the counter, glaring at her beneath his shaggy eyebrows.

‘I told the mistress you was here,’ he said with a sly grin. ‘She weren’t expecting you. Got the sack, did you?’