She was strict, she made those kids wait patiently until everything was ready and then line up neatly to receive their one goody, and one mug of milk, from Zach who beamed like Father Christmas through the whole thing.

‘The idea,’ said Zach quietly, ‘is to get them used to the sunlight.’

The kids had finished their snack and me and Zach were hoovering up the leftovers while Elizabeth Ten-Tons read them a story at the other end of the nursery.

‘Are they planning to move to the surface?’ I asked.

‘Don’t be daft,’ said Zach. ‘But they are looking at acquiring a bit of real estate to serve as an official address.’ And then no doubt connect it up to the warren of tunnels they had running under Notting Hill. It was a clever idea since it allowed the Quiet People to bureaucratically integrate themselves into society without giving up their freedom to apply Victorian health and safety standards to their work underground.

‘Whose idea was this?’

‘Your mate Lady Ty’s,’ said Zach and explained that she’d also smoothed the way with OFSTED and Camden Council to get the necessary permissions and permits. I’ve had similar dealings with Camden, so I knew that couldn’t have been easy.

I looked over at the kids. It was a sensible, pragmatic solution to the problem of integrating the Quiet People into society. And if those kids started to prefer living above ground, going to uni in far off exotic places like Reading and Cambridge, and marrying out of the tribe? Well then, after a while the whole problem just fades away, doesn’t it? Along with the memories of the old people and the unwritten histories. And silence would reign in the galleries of their forefathers. Not that they were exactly noisy now.

‘I’m not going to tell you where she is,’ said Zach suddenly.

This caused me some confusion until I worked out he was talking about Lesley.

‘Is she all right?’ I asked.

‘What?’

‘Is she all right?’ I asked. ‘Is she OK?’

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Considering, you know, one thing or the other. All things being equal.’

Zach thought he had something to hide, which meant Zach probably was in contact with Lesley on a regular basis. Good, I thought. Because soon it will be time to pull on that thread and see where it goes.

But not today. Because first there was Mr Fossman.

‘I want to know about Reynard,’ I said.

Zach hesitated and I could practically hear him weighing up whether to pretend he didn’t know, and then thinking better of it.

‘What about him?’ he asked.

‘I need to know where he is.’

‘What for?’

‘Because the Faceless Man wants him dead.’

‘He’s probably already dead, then.’

‘Not if I can help it.’

Zach licked his lips and glanced over at Elizabeth Ten-Tons before dropping his voice so low I had to lean in to hear him.