‘You said you were sorry, Zillah, for letting me down. I wonder if you’ve thought about how you might make it up to me? The gate was down this week because of your illness. Ten, maybe twenty pounds I’ve lost already. It adds up to quite a lot, especially when drinks and things are thrown in.’

My mouth was suddenly dry and I swallowed convulsively to moisten it.

‘That is a lot of money,’ I said, my voice sounding small and scared.

Crillick put his hands on my shoulders to soothe me.

‘There now, no need to worry,’ he said. ‘Why don’t we go next door? I’m sure we’ll be more comfortable there.’

The two boxes were connected by a through door. I knew the second one to be bigger still, with room for chairs and a chaise. Crillick took my left hand. In desperation I reached behind me and swept the ink bottle to the floor. Crillick turned when I yelped as its contents started to spread across the carpet.

‘Oh no, I’m so sorry.’

I bent down to pick up the rapidly emptying bottle, tipping it slightly to make sure all its contents came out whilst still looking like I was helping. The stain grew larger. I could see Crillick was irritated. He was very careful of his possessions, particularly expensive ones like this, and I was clearly making things worse with my clumsiness.

‘Go on through,’ he said impatiently.

I rushed to obey him, keen to put as much space as possible between us. I stepped forward to the front of the box and looked over the edge to the stage, putting myself in Crillick’s place. He hadn’t been in much lately but he often came to watch the show.

‘It’s a great view, isn’t it?’ he said at my ear. He’d followed me in.

I half-turned but he’d put his arms on either side of me and I was caged.

‘The ink, I didn’t mean to spill it.’

‘I’ll send for someone to clear it up later. We were getting on quite well, weren’t we? No need for a silly accident to interrupt that.’

He was pressed close against me. I knew I had the strength to push him away, would do it if I needed to, but that would mean losing my job. It had to be the last resort, but I was getting close to it. The thought of him pawing me made me feel sick to my stomach.

‘It’s not just the acts I see from here, it’s all sorts. The women who sit in with the men, the serving girls who help themselves to a drink on their way to and from the tables. The men who exchange cards, but not for business.’