‘Yes, but I won’t hold you to your promise. I have a feeling it would be broken before the end of the day.’

He laughed. ‘You have so little faith in me, Kate.’

‘As I said, I hardly know you, but it’s a hot day and I would be grateful for a ride in your barouche, but you must promise to let me alight in Fleet Street. It’s better if we’re not seen together. I’ll walk the rest of the way.’

Lincoln’s Inn was an oasis of calm with the noisy, rat-infested slums of Clare Market to the west and the round-the-clock bustle of Fleet Street to the east. Kate walked slowly towards the building that housed Perry’s chambers. She was still struggling to equate Harry Trader the gang leader with Sir Harry Lyndon, Baronet, but she knew she must put that aside and concentrate on the more important matter.

She entered the building that had been her father’s old chambers and was met by Franklin, the chief clerk. He had known Kate since she was a child and he greeted her warmly.

‘As it happens Mr Harte is in chambers, as is your father. Would you like me to announce you, Miss Kate?’

‘No, thank you,’ Kate said, smiling. ‘I think I’ll give them a surprise.’ She made her way along the narrow, wainscoted passage to the room that her father had occupied before they left for India. It was only three years ago, but it seemed like another lifetime to Kate. She knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an answer. Perry was seated behind the large mahogany desk and her father was standing with his back to the empty grate. Both of them stared at her as if she were a complete stranger.

Perry was the first to recover. He stood up and walked round the desk to greet her. ‘Kate, this is a pleasant surprise.’

‘What are you doing here?’ Sir Bartholomew demanded stiffly. ‘You know you aren’t supposed to interrupt daily business, Kate.’

‘I came to ask Perry for advice, Papa,’ Kate said boldly. ‘But I can come another time if you are both too busy to hear what I have to say.’

‘Nonsense.’ Perry pulled up a chair for her. ‘Take a seat and tell me how I may be of help.’

Sir Bartholomew cleared his throat noisily. ‘As my daughter is here now, I think I ought to give her the news I mentioned earlier.’

‘Really, sir? I mean it might be better done in the privacy of your home, don’t you think?’ Perry faced Sir Bartholomew with a disapproving frown.

‘I think I am the best judge of how to treat my own family, thank you.’ Sir Bartholomew turned to Kate. ‘Take a seat, my dear.’