‘Sir Henry! Explain yourself!’ demanded Jack, both angry and bemused at the apparent deceit of his benefactor. ‘Are you responsible for holding my sister prisoner? Why didn’t you tell me she was here?’

‘Holding her prisoner?’ said Sir Henry, making a show of being shocked. ‘What talk is this of prisoner? Jess is my betrothed – my future wife as soon as she comes of age.’

‘What?’ exclaimed Jack, his jaw dropping in abhorrence. He looked to his sister for a denial, but she couldn’t meet his eye.

‘It’s true, Jack,’ she replied meekly. ‘I had no choice, you see. He took possession of Father’s cottage to settle a debt he said our family owed him. I’d have been thrown out on to the streets, like Mrs Winters, if I hadn’t accepted his proposal. I had no money, the plague was rife – I’d have been dead within a month. You do see, don’t you?’

Jack felt sick to the pit of his stomach. He wrenched the silver locket from his neck and held it out to Sir Henry. ‘Was this your courtship gift to her?’

‘Why, yes!’ said Sir Henry, his eyes lighting up at the sight of it. ‘And it cost me a pretty penny too –’ His face suddenly soured. ‘Not that your ungrateful sister appreciated it, though. She’d lost it within a week!’

Jess, emboldened by the presence of her brother, replied, ‘No, sir – not “lost”. I gave it to Mrs Winters.’

Sir Henry’s cheeks flushed red with rage. ‘Why on earth would you do that, girl?’

‘So she could pawn it,’ explained Jess, holding his fierce gaze, ‘and keep herself from starving because of you!’

‘As my future wife, you’ll learn to respect me and my property!’ bellowed Sir Henry. He raised the back of his hand to strike her but Jack stepped between them, shielding his sister.

‘Mrs Winters was right,’ said Jack, as Sir Henry grudgingly backed down. ‘You are indeed a wolf in sheep’s clothing!’

‘Don’t be like that, Jack,’ said Sir Henry, his tone at once conciliatory. ‘I always say, family must come first, and one day you and I will be brothers-in-law.’

‘Over my dead body!’ snarled Jack. He advanced on Sir Henry but was warded off by one of Sir Toby’s pistols.

Jack now regretted leaving his rapier in his room for the masked ball. Yori was equally defenceless. Akiko was twitching to use the katana on her hip – but Sir Toby had his second pistol trained on her, his finger to the trigger. Fast as Akiko was with a sword, Jack doubted she’d beat a speeding bullet.

‘Oh, don’t talk of dead bodies. I hope it won’t come to that, Jack,’ said Sir Henry with a thin mean smile. ‘And, anyway, you have a debt to pay first.’

‘What debt? I owe you nothing!’ said Jack.