For once, and to Kate’s astonishment, her father did not share his wife’s concerns about the proposed soup kitchen. At dinner that evening he listened to Kate and applauded her public-spirited intention to feed the poor.

‘Bartholomew, I’m shocked,’ Arabella said crossly. ‘I thought you would support me in this.’

‘If our daughter is going to be a bluestocking, she might as well do something for others, Arabella. Besides which, Kate’s active involvement in a charity will reflect well upon me, and when it becomes known might further my chances of being a High Court Judge. I might even be put forward for a baronetcy.’

Arabella’s eyes shone with excitement. ‘Do you hear that, Kate? Your papa is always right. He understands the wider issues here.’

‘You don’t object then, Papa?’ Kate said incredulously.

‘On the contrary, my dear, I might even make a small contribution to the charity. I dare say you need some sort of equipment to start preparing meals for those who need them.’

‘Yes, Papa. Pots and pans and such. I was going to ask Cook to make me a list.’

‘I’m sure we must have dealings with a local ironmonger. You may choose what you want and have it put on my account, Katherine. Never let it be said that Bartholomew Martin is a penny-pincher.’

‘The man who owns the property is very wealthy, so Kate tells me. Although I’ve never heard of him.’ Arabella turned to Kate, eyebrows raised. ‘What is his name? I’ve forgotten already.’

Kate took a deep breath, hoping that Spears had not come to her father’s attention in the criminal world.

‘Augustus Spears.’

‘I’ve never heard of him,’ Sir Bartholomew said slowly. ‘Are you sure you have the right name, Katherine?’

‘Yes, Papa.’ Kate thought quickly. ‘I think he might be recently returned from the colonies, having made his fortune in …’ Kate thought hard, ‘in guano, I believe.’

‘It’s strange that he chose to buy property in the Minories,’ Arabella mused. ‘I don’t know that area well, but I have heard that it’s not the sort of place one would wish to live.’

Kate could see her father mulling this over and she spoke quickly. ‘But it is just the right place for a soup kitchen, Mama. After all, there would be no point in opening one in Finsbury Square, would there?’

‘Of course not. What an idea.’ Arabella picked up the silver bell and rang it. ‘I wonder what Cook has prepared for dessert.’

Next morning, having visited the local ironmonger and purchased the necessary equipment with the promise that it would be delivered immediately to the premises in Cable Street, Kate and Jenny visited the market to buy the items that Cook deemed necessary for a good nourishing soup. With baskets overflowing with vegetables, some cheap cuts of meat and beef bones, they took a cab to Cable Street, stopping first in Nightingale Lane.