‘I won’t keep you any longer, Zillah. Until tonight, then.’ He thrust a pamphlet into my hand. ‘Do read this if you have a moment.’

I put the pamphlet under my arm and rose to leave. Lucien pressed my hands in his by way of farewell.

‘I’m glad you came to me, Zillah. We will help her together,’ he said.

XVIII

A Meeting at Exeter Hall

Exeter Hall was nestled among a parade of shops along the Strand, with two stone pillars at the entrance. I’d hung around at the theatre after rehearsal, practising my steps on my own to show Barky I was sorry for being late, and arrived just before six o’clock. I’d seen the Hall busier but there were still three carriages waiting outside, the drivers down from their boxes smoking pipes by the kerb and the horses, reins loosened, chomping at their nosebags. It was five minutes before the lecture was due to start. There were Black men and women streaming in through the doors and I let myself be pulled along by them.

‘Zillah, there you are. I was watching for you.’

Lucien was standing to one side of the entrance to the main room and I stepped out of the crowd to join him. In his left hand he carried a cane. The gilt handle was carved into the shape of a lion’s head and, when he saw me look at it, he smiled.

‘It felt fitting for this evening’s lecture – Sierra Leone, it translates as Lion Mountains,’ he said. ‘Did you find a moment to read the literature I gave you?’

‘I’m here to meet Miss Masterson,’ I reminded him and then felt a little mean when his face fell. The Leopard Lady was my primary concern but I didn’t want to seem ungrateful. Not when he’d helped me with the translation and now the introduction.

‘I’m expecting her in time for the second half. As soon as she arrives you can make her acquaintance.’

He offered me his arm and together we entered the lecture theatre.

I’d thought Exeter Hall was grand from the outside but inside the main room was stunning, bright from the light of two large chandeliers and big enough to hold a thousand people or more. Crillick’s Variety was tiny compared to this. Straight ahead was a raised platform with an iron railing round it. Steps led up to it from left and right and there was a gallery too, which had started to fill with people. I was conscious of my brown woollen coat. It was a bit shabby but hopefully there’d be no call to take it off as the dress beneath it was no better. I’d best keep my gloves on too. I regretted my filed nails and I doubted Lucien Winters would be keen on them either.