He drained his cup and stood up. ‘Thank you for the tea. Now I need to go and leave you to get on with your good work.’ He hesitated in the doorway. ‘And I do mean it when I say it’s good work. I wish I were as well-intentioned and caring as you are, Kate.’

‘I don’t know about that.’ Kate felt the blood rush to her cheeks and she turned her head away.

‘Annie told me how kind you’ve been to her. Her brother, Joe, asked me to keep an eye on her and you’ve made my task a lot easier.’

‘It’s a pleasure to have her here, and people love to listen to her music.’

‘Don’t worry about next month’s rent,’ Harry said slowly. ‘It’s the least I can do, but you need to register as a charity and then you can raise funds legally. Your lawyer friend should be able to help you with that.’

Kate gave him a searching look. ‘How do you know about Perry?’

‘There’s very little that goes on in this area without coming to my attention. Thank you again for the tea.’ He turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Kate staring after him in surprise.

Harry Trader was an enigma. Although she sedulously avoided making enquiries into his criminal past, she knew that his gang had a reputation for running illicit gambling clubs and for violence. Her father would be horrified if he knew that she was involved, even if indirectly, with such a person. Although, if she were honest, Harry’s reputation made him a dangerous but romantic figure, and his generosity was more than welcome.

Kate was about to count the coins when she heard footsteps and Jenny hurried into the kitchen. She came to a halt, staring at Harry’s empty cup and the money on the table in front of Kate.

‘What’s happened? Did I just see Harry Trader walking down the street?’

‘Yes, you did. And thanks to Mr Trader we are back in business. The flour is alive with weevils so I can’t make any bread, but he’s given us enough money to purchase loaves from the bakery and bones for today’s soup. I can also pay Ivy.’

‘But if we take money from him, doesn’t that leave us obligated to a villain?’

Kate rose to her feet. ‘Yes, I suppose it does, but I don’t care, Jenny. If I threw this back in his face we would have to close up at the end of the week. As it is I will have to find another way to fund our efforts. My allowance isn’t due until the beginning of next month.’

‘You’ve been using your own money?’