‘I ain’t hurt, but I’ve lost everything. I got nothing and no home to go to. I might as well hand meself in and go to prison.’

‘Let’s get away from here,’ Kate said urgently. ‘There’s nothing we can do.’

‘Got nowhere to go.’ Spears dashed his hand across his eyes. ‘I got no home and only the duds I stands up in.’

‘We’ll take Frankie home.’ Kate grabbed Frankie by the hand. ‘I need to speak to your ma, Frankie.’

‘She never done it.’ Frankie’s eyes widened in alarm. ‘You can’t pin it on any one of us, miss.’

‘Silly boy. Why would I think that?’

He shook his head. ‘Dunno.’

‘We’ll go and see your ma.’ Kate turned to Spears. ‘You’d best come, too. I’ll help you get back on your feet, but first you need to get cleaned up.’

‘It’s the end of me. I should never had fallen in with Harry Trader. It’s all his fault.’ Spears trudged along behind them, grumbling to himself.

Ivy greeted them with a solemn face. ‘What a state of affairs, miss. What shall us do now?’

‘I don’t know, and that’s the truth.’ Kate studied Ivy’s pale face. ‘What’s wrong? It’s not just the loss of the soup kitchen, is it?’

Ivy shook her head. ‘Come inside. I don’t want the whole street to know me business.’ She ushered them into her tiny living room, where baby John slept in a wooden cradle and the twins sat cross-legged on the floor, playing with a roughly carved wooden doll, while Charlie sucked on a lamb bone.

‘Where are the others?’ Kate asked anxiously.

‘Nellie, May and Jimmy are out selling bootlaces. Not that it brings in much these days. I can’t manage without the money from the soup kitchen, miss. We’ll have to go to the workhouse – there’s nothing else for it.’

‘You won’t do that,’ Kate said firmly. She opened her reticule and took out her purse. ‘Here, take this, Ivy. It will keep you for a day or two while I try to sort things out.’

Ivy hesitated. ‘I didn’t ask for charity, miss.’

‘I think we can count each other as old friends now, Ivy. Please take it, if only for the children’s sakes.’

Reluctantly, Ivy took the coins and pocketed them. ‘Are you going to start another soup kitchen?’

Spears slumped down on a rickety wooden chair. ‘No one asks me how I’ll manage. I could do with a cup of tea or a tot of rum.’

‘You won’t get either here, Augustus Spears.’ Ivy glared at him. ‘You’ve only got yourself to care about. I’ve got eight little ones.’

‘That ain’t my fault.’

Kate held up her hand. ‘There’s no point in fighting with each other. How did the fire start, Spears?’