‘Or a finger, by the looks of it!’ she said, nodding at his left hand gripping the tankard awkwardly.

Jack glanced at the stub of his little finger, the nail and first joint missing. ‘Yubitsume,’ he replied bitterly.

‘I’m sorry?’ said Rose.

‘My taijutsu master, Sensei Kyuzo, sliced it off as punishment for an alleged crime.’

Rose winced. ‘I suppose it’s better than losing your head. Is he responsible for the scar on your cheek too?’

Jack’s hand went absently to the thin white line marking his left cheek. ‘No, that’s courtesy of Kazuki, the bane of my life in Japan.’ He scowled, recalling all the bullying he’d suffered at the hands of his school rival. Kazuki had mercilessly taunted and tortured Jack from the very first day at the Niten Ichi Ryū, victimizing him for being a foreigner, a gaijin. They’d fought on numerous occasions – even duelled one another during the Battle of Osaka Castle, despite being on the same side! His rival had pursued him across Japan for over a year on the orders of the Shogun who wanted him dead … and to satisfy his own bloodlust.

‘Is that why you’re back?’ asked Rose.

Jack shook his head. ‘Kazuki’s in prison now. He’s no longer a problem. I came back to find my sister –’ he put his tankard down, the heavy weight of grief returning – ‘only to discover she’s died … from the plague.’

Rose blinked and stared hard at him. ‘Jess? She ain’t dead, as far as I know.’

‘What?’ exclaimed Jack, jumping up.

‘No, she left the area before the plague hit,’ replied Rose. ‘Your father’s cottage was seized by some well-to-do gentleman – bad debts or something. He rented it out to three families. They’re the ones that died.’

Jack fell back into his seat, stunned, his sorrow at the fate of the three families eclipsed by his relief at hearing his sister had survived. ‘Where did Jess go, then?’

Rose shrugged. ‘No idea. One day here, next day gone. But I bet you a silver coin that that old biddy, Mrs Winters, knows.’

‘She didn’t die of the plague either?’ asked Jack breathlessly.

Rose shook her head. ‘But she may as well have! After Jess left, I saw her around Limehouse a few times, quite a desperate look on her old face. I heard she helped care for those three families in your cottage when they caught the plague. Nasty job, but well paid.’

Jack leant eagerly across the table. ‘Where’s Mrs Winters now?’

‘Now that I do know,’ Rose replied, taking his half-empty tankard and draining the contents in one gulp. ‘Bedlam!’

12: Bedlam

They heard the screams and howls long before they reached the entrance to the notorious asylum. A former priory, Bedlam was a cluster of decrepit brick buildings situated just beyond the city walls in Bishopsgate.