‘I could see that you were taken aback. The point is, can you find the money to buy Papa out?’

‘I don’t have much choice, Kate. I’ll do my utmost to raise the necessary sum.’ He gave her a searching look. ‘But what about you? I thought you seemed out of sorts when I arrived earlier this evening.’

She had decided to confide in him, hoping that he might know of a philanthropic backer to finance her scheme, but this was obviously not the time. She managed a weary smile. ‘I expect I was a bit tired, that’s all. I’ve had rather a busy day.’

‘Ahem.’ Henry hovered at Perry’s side.

‘Thank you, Henry.’ Perry acknowledged the footman with a brief smile. He put on his hat and tipped it at a rakish angle. ‘Good night, Kate. I’ll see you again very soon, I hope.’

She smiled. ‘You can count on it, Perry. I might need some legal advice.’

‘Call in at my chambers at any time. It will be more private there and we can talk.’

Later that evening, alone in her room, Kate counted the money she had saved from her monthly allowance. Her father was not overgenerous, but neither was he mean, and he was quite open about his purely selfish motives for having a well-turned-out daughter. Kate knew that this was partly due to her beloved uncle Edgar, who had criticised his brother for being parsimonious, and it was he who had insisted upon her being given a generous amount of pin money. Her father had continued this on their return to London, but she suspected that this was part of his plan to see her married off to someone rich and influential. Whatever happened, and no matter how much her parents disapproved, Kate was determined to marry for love, and if she could not be with Ash, she would remain single.

The coins lay on her satin coverlet, glinting in the firelight, and she counted them once again. There was one pound and ninepence halfpenny. If she could reach a reasonable bargain with the owner of the premises in Cable Street she would have enough money left to make a start. Quite how she would finance the charity when her cash ran out was another matter, but she would face that when necessary. She placed the coins in her reticule and tucked it under her pillow – a habit that she had developed during her three years in Delhi where it was not unknown for monkeys to enter buildings and steal anything on which they could lay their tiny fingers.

She rang the bell for Jenny to release her from the confines of her tightly laced stays.