‘We’re looking for some people,’ said Brooke. Josa switched her attention, holding Brooke’s stare, daring her to look away. Ed knew Brooke well enough to know that she wouldn’t be faced down and in the end it was Josa who broke the stare, turning her face to fix on Lewis. She managed to do it in such a way that it looked like her choice.

Lewis didn’t try to eyeball her. He lolled there, staring at his shoes, yawning and looking dozy. Ed had no idea how much of it was an act. Josa gave him barely a second before dismissing him and returning to Ed.

‘Some girl called Ella, yeah?’ she said. ‘Am I right?’

‘Yeah,’ Ed replied. ‘D’you know her?’

‘Well, she ain’t here. I can tell you that much. But I’m gonna go talk to some people, quiz my top dogs, see if we can’t come up with something for you, yeah? We got, like, scouts out all the time. Ain’t nothing we don’t know about what’s going on out there.’

‘Can we join the meeting?’

‘Nah. I don’t think so. This is my yard. Don’t want you snooping around, checking us out. We don’t know where you been. You might just be spies for the Golden Twins down Windsor, or the gaylords down Maidenhead. You’re a funny-looking bunch, so in my mind you belong down Ascot with the weirdos.’

‘We’re from London,’ said Brooke.

‘We in’t had anyone come out of London in a way long time.’

‘We’re not spies.’ Ed held out his hands in an empty gesture.

‘Don’t matter whether you is or whether you in’t. You in’t coming inside, you get me?’

‘What’re you doing with them sickos?’ Brooke asked.

The grown-ups were a sorry bunch, bruised and battered and bleeding, with burst boils on their faces. The chains around their necks were fixed to long wooden poles so that the kids could keep them at a safe distance and all the fight had gone out of them.

‘We’re rounding them up,’ said Josa. ‘For the races. And now you’re gonna pretend you don’t know what the races are cos you claim to be from the smoke.’

‘We are from London,’ Ed insisted. ‘And we genuinely don’t have a clue what the races might be.’

‘Well, you’re missing out then, ain’t you?’ said Josa and she cackled. ‘Now scarper off back to your wagon before I get the hump with you and change my mind about being nice. We gonna go in and sort ourselves out then we’ll let you know. OK?’