‘They were the most devoted couple I’ve ever met, and when my father died my mother simply pined away. It was sad for me, being an only child, but at least they were reunited, or so I always hoped.’

‘But your cousin’s family are very poor.’

‘I know what you’re thinking, Kate. They are also very proud and have never accepted any money from my father. Maybe now I can redress the balance a little. If my cousin Ted goes to prison his family will starve.’

‘He has children?’

‘Eight of them at the last count. I don’t uphold criminal activities of any kind, but there are some circumstances when I believe even the most law-abiding citizen can be tempted. With a wife and all those children to support, I can understand how the temptation to cheat the system might get the better of any man.’

Kate stared straight ahead as the cab negotiated the overcrowded city streets, heading towards the river. ‘I never realised how much difference there was in the way people live in London,’ she said slowly. ‘I saw poverty in India, but we led such a privileged life that it didn’t affect me as perhaps it should have done. Then, when we arrived back home, it was as if I opened my eyes for the first time, and in the past couple of months I’ve realised what an enormous gulf lies between the rich and the poor.’

‘I dare say your parents kept such sights from you while you were growing up,’ Perry said reasonably. ‘I wouldn’t want a child of mine to see some of the things I’ve witnessed.’

Kate turned to him in surprise. ‘But you must have had a privileged upbringing like myself.’

‘When I was studying law at university I used to walk the streets at night. I ventured into some of the most squalid, poverty-stricken areas of the city, and I saw how the poor exist. That is why I take on as many cases similar to that of my cousin’s as I can, without damaging your father’s interests, of course.’

‘Does he know what you’re doing?’

Perry shook his head. ‘No, but while he was in India I had free rein. Now he’s returned to London your father is more interested in becoming a High Court judge than worrying about cases not his own.’

Kate nodded. ‘Well, I won’t say anything. I agree entirely with what you’re doing, although I very much doubt if Papa would be happy if he found out.’

‘I will tell him when the time is right.’ Perry tapped on the roof of the cab. ‘The first house on the left, cabby. Just past the streetlamp.’ He leaped to the ground as the cab came to a halt, and then assisted Kate to alight.