‘I think there’s more to this than you’re telling me,’ Kate said slowly. ‘But I like your mother and I feel sorry for her. I will wait and see what sentence they hand out to you.’

‘If it goes against me, you’ll find the keys and the deeds to the house in Walthamstow in a locked box in my room in Finsbury Circus.’ Harry took a bunch of keys from his pocket and handed them to Kate. ‘It’s the small brass key with scrollwork. The others are keys to the premises in Cable Street, and the house in Finsbury Circus.’

Kate took them, eyeing him warily. ‘You really don’t think it will go well for you?’

‘Best be safe, that’s my motto.’ Harry leaned towards her and brushed Kate’s lips with a kiss. ‘Thank you, Kate. I know I can trust you.’

She hurried from the room and found Warrender standing outside the door. ‘It’s all a mistake, isn’t it, miss? The master will be released as soon as they discover their error.’

‘I hope so,’ Kate said evasively. ‘But I need to put his case to a lawyer friend. Will you take me to Lincoln’s Inn Fields?’

‘Of course, miss. You’ll find that all of us servants in Finsbury Circus will do anything for Sir Harry.’

Kate held her finger to her lips. ‘They don’t know his title here, Warrender. Make sure you don’t mention it should you come here again.’

‘As I said, miss. It’s obviously a mistake.’

Kate was lucky enough to find Perry in chambers, and she wasted no time in repeating the plea for him to represent Harry that she had been silently rehearsing during the carriage ride from Coldbath Fields Prison to Lincoln’s Inn.

‘Of course it isn’t a mistake,’ Perry said angrily when she finished speaking. ‘The police haven’t arrested the wrong man. I don’t believe the cock-and-bull tale that Trader has fed you.’

Kate folded her hands in her lap, meeting Perry’s angry gaze with a steady look. ‘I think you’d better know the truth, although this mustn’t go any further.’

‘Just a moment, Kate. You know that I can’t withhold vital evidence. I’m not going to court to lie for Harry Trader. He’s a common criminal and a gang leader. If he’s sent down for a long term it will be what he deserves.’

‘You know that I can’t ask my father for advice.’ Kate watched Perry carefully, looking for the slightest change in his tight-lipped expression. ‘Harry Trader allowed me to run the soup kitchen from his premises, but that probably makes me an accessory. If he goes to prison I might be arraigned on charges of aiding and abetting a criminal, or something similar. I only know the terms I’ve heard Papa use when talking about court cases.’