‘Engineerin’?’

‘Yes, I’m sure you’re very grateful for the opportunity?’

‘I know nowt about engineerin’.’ He seemed to perk up suddenly. ‘I’ve ’eard of Brunel. Railways, bridges. Built half the country, I were told. Aye, I’ve ’eard o’ him.’

Gunson chuckled. ‘Have you indeed? Well, you must not run before you can walk. I’ll start you with the navvies on the Agden site. You’ll get along with them. Um. I mean to say, they are more your people, aren’t they?’

‘I don’t know owt about navvies neither.’

‘Never mind. They’ll teach you the basics. Evenings you will study reading and writing and mathematics under the expert tutelage of Mrs Gunson. You’ll come to my office at the end of each day after working on the site and I’ll show you the theory of it.’

He was on comfortable territory now, and warmed to his theme. ‘Reservoir building is an essential industry, perhaps the most essential. You know, without a clean and reliable supply of water this town – any town – would wither and die, the wheels of industry stop turning. Stagnation set in. It’s our job to prevent that from happening.’

‘I saw that dam, Dale Dyke. It were some size.’

‘One of the biggest we’d built.’ Gunson sighed. ‘God knows, I’m taken for granted until there’s a catastrophe, and then I’m blamed for it.’

He’d gone further than intended.

The boy lifted his hand a few inches off the mattress. ‘I’m Silas Hinchcliffe.’

Gunson shook his hand gently. ‘Pleased to meet you, Silas. Can you walk? Millicent will come tomorrow to take you to our place.’

‘Millicent?’

‘My housekeeper. Millicent Leigh.’

He was surprised to see the boy attempt to lift himself up, his eyes searching Gunson’s face eagerly. It crossed his mind the boy wasn’t all there in the head.

‘Please don’t exert yourself. That’s it. Lie down, Silas.’ He looked around but the nurse was nowhere in sight. ‘You must rest.’

The skin around the boy’s mouth was white with strain.

‘I know Milly,’ Silas said. ‘I know her daughter, Louisa. She’s lookin’ after Shandy for me.’

‘Shandy?’

‘My collie. An’ Louisa’s friendly with Harriet. Harriet Wragg, Walter Simpson’s niece. D’you know her?’

The boy’s cheeks were flushed. Gunson was at a loss. He didn’t recognise the names Harriet Wragg nor Walter Simpson. ‘It’s a small world indeed,’ he said politely.

‘Tha doesn’t know of her, nor Walter Simpson?’ He closed his eyes. ‘That man’s the reason I’m in ’ere.’

‘Ah, well. You must put all that behind you now.’

‘Aye, that’s what the judge told me.’

‘The gentleman is correct.’

‘I’ve had my fill of gentlemen.’

‘I dare say you have.’

Silas opened his eyes and looked at Gunson, a resigned smile on his face. ‘Least said, soonest mended in this town, eh?’

Gunson smiled wryly. ‘It’s a workable philosophy.’

‘You built the dam that burst.’

‘I did.’ Gunson hesitated. He shouldn’t have to justify himself to this humble creature, a member of the working class with no vote to cast and no interest in politics, although the urge to defend himself was strong.