‘Wealth. Not just money.’ She gestures at the walls of the office. ‘And not money from this. Anyone can smell of money, but you’ve been rolling in wealth all your life like a dog in shit.’

He sits back in his seat and presses the tips of his fingers together.

‘And there you are, Ruby Mills. That’s why you’re going to work for me. You’re a natural, but I’ll teach you more than Solly Palmer, even. And you can pick up information for me, here and there.’

‘I still don’t understand –’

‘A lot of people pass through this club. I do business with some of them. You listen to them, sit with them, charm them – like you charmed me. Take them to bed. They’ll tell you things about themselves. Most of it will be worthless, but some of it will be gold. When you hear anything that might be of interest, then you come and tell me.’

‘And what happens then?’

‘For you? I pay you. For me? I make use of what you’ve told me.’

‘Are you a blackmailer, then, as well as a pimp?’

He flinches. ‘Ugly words, Ruby. Ugly words. It helps to know what a man’s weaknesses are, what corruption he’s involved in, who he deals with.’

A blackmailer and a pimp.

‘What about Billy Walsh?’

‘You should forget Mr Walsh. I know enough about him already. He’s unimportant.’

‘He met someone here. That night I came here. He called him “General”. Looked like a soldier – tall, smart, important. Is he important? Does he work for you, too?’

A flicker of recognition crosses his face. ‘Charles Haversham. We call him the General, because of how he throws his weight about. He wasn’t a general in France – only ever a captain, as it happens – but he oversees a lot of what we do. He’s engaging the Elephant Boys in our operations. I think he met your Billy Walsh when he was across the Channel and supposed to be shooting Germans. He’s a business partner of mine. A silent partner – when he’s not pretending to be a politician.’

‘He’s a politician? Doing business with you?’

He smiles. ‘They’re not all old windbags. Some of them are clever, some of them are… Useful to know. And most of them are as weak and corrupt and self-serving as you or I.’

‘That I can believe.’ Ruby takes a final draw on her cigarette and stubs it out in the small ashtray on his desk. That, too, looks like something old, special, now she sees it up close.