Thinking of it now, he briefly closed his eyes. He had never spoken to Charlotte so harshly before.

Louisa got up to shovel more coal into the fire. The greasy smell filled his nostrils and Gunson rose to his feet quickly, setting the rocker in motion.

‘I’m afraid we have run out of time, Mrs Leigh, but thank you very much for your hospitality.’ He nodded to Louisa. ‘I am very happy to meet you. Shall we, my dear? Silas?’

‘Aye, Mr Gunson,’ said Silas. ‘I’ll be just a minute.’

‘Then we shall let you say your goodbyes. Come, Charlotte.’

In the lane, his breath clouding around his face, Gunson replaced his hat and fastened his cloak.

‘The weather is vile,’ said Charlotte.

He turned to her and rearranged her scarf, so it covered the lower half of her face. Her eyes were large and gentle above the blue wool.

‘I’m sorry, my dear.’

She cupped his cheek with one gloved hand. ‘I know.’

Satisfied, Gunson shuffled his feet impatiently. ‘Silas will be moments only,’ he assured her. He was eager to get back to Division Street, to the pile of work that awaited him. The previous day, he had bumped into Samuel Webster on the pavement and, reluctantly, stopped to exchange a few words. He had winced when Webster spoke of a stay of execution. ‘The council has given you five years’ grace, all the time you’ll need to meet your pledge to provide a constant and uninterrupted flow of water to the town,’ Webster had said, ‘I should think you would be pleased with that, John.’ Gunson had told the man he had a headache. ‘Ah,’ said Webster, ‘At least you are able to continue about your day. I am plagued by those terrible headaches that force me to take me to my bed, sometimes for days at a time.’ Gunson had smiled grimly. ‘Perhaps you are dehydrated,’ he had said, earning a surprised guffaw.

‘What are you smiling about?’ said Charlotte.

‘Nothing, my dear.’

The ground sloped up steeply at the far end of the lane and Gunson saw a lone figure appear from around the corner and begin a careful descent over cobbles that were now snow-covered. He couldn’t make out from this distance whether the shuffling form was male or female, not that it mattered. He looked in the other direction, towards the main road where his gig was waiting. It was like looking through a telescope in reverse. Townspeople on horseback and in carriages hurried across the junction and pedestrians moved quickly among them, bent against the cold, indistinguishable from one another, purposeful or not, but all cells in the body of the town. Water was its life blood, carried along five arteries to feed the ever-thirsty heart, and he, the careless surgeon, had burst one of those arteries and must forever make amends.

Chapter 47

Harriet pounded downstairs and found the boys in the front parlour, unusually placid, setting out ivory roundels on the games table and throwing glances at their mother that were curious one second, delighted the next.