‘That’s a question I keep asking myself. I thought I could go back to them, and providing I bought the land cheaply, they would stump up the rest of the money. I suppose I was naïve, if not downright foolish.’

‘You’re being too hard on yourself,’ Judy said hastily. ‘In any event, the people who loaned the money must have expected you to have expenses. They might be much more reasonable than you think. After all, they must be very wealthy to have considered such an investment in the first place.’

‘I’ll visit them all in person and explain. It’s the least I can do, but first I must find somewhere else to live, and I think I know someone who might help me.’ He put his cup back on its saucer. ‘Would you mind if I go out now, Minnie? I don’t want to abuse your hospitality, but I need to see this person urgently.’

‘Of course,’ Minnie said hastily. ‘Treat our home as if it were yours, Ben.’

He turned to Judy with an eager smile. ‘Would you like to come with me? You’ll be interested in the work Sarah does in such a poor parish.’

‘I think I know who you mean.’ Minnie leaned forward, her eyes alight with interest. ‘Is it Sarah Holden, the woman who runs the soup kitchen and shelter in Limehouse? I’ve heard she does amazing work with the poor and destitute.’

Ben nodded. ‘Yes, she was a nurse at the orthopaedic hospital where I qualified. She would have made a fine doctor had it been easier for a woman to enter the profession, but she hasn’t let it stop her from doing a tremendous amount of good. She might know of cheap rooms that I can rent.’

‘I’d like to meet her,’ Judy said eagerly. ‘Where does she live?’

‘She took over a near derelict warehouse in Juniper Row some years ago, and she has a room there, but the rest of the building she’s turned into a refuge for the most needy.’

‘And this place is in Limehouse? I don’t know the area.’

‘You don’t want to either,’ Minnie said firmly. ‘It’s a rough place, Judy. I’m not sure you ought to go with Ben.’

Judy tossed her head. ‘If Sarah Holden is brave enough to live there, I’m sure I can face a visit this afternoon.’

As Ben had intimated, the old warehouse had seen more prosperous days. The narrow street was lined with similar buildings, although most of them were in a better state of repair, and many of them were connected by covered walkways high above the street. Ben rapped on the door, which looked as though someone had attempted to break it down at some point, and it had been repaired with more enthusiasm than skill. They waited, shivering as a cold wind hurled itself at them from the direction of the river, bringing with it the stench of sewage, silt and the smell of hot engine oil. Judy waited impatiently for someone to let them in, and after a couple of minutes the door opened just a crack.