I ignored Barky, bending lower to really put my back into it. The trunk budged less than an inch and I cried out as I felt a twinge in my stomach.

‘Leave it, Zillah.’

‘But it’s got the fabric you bought me, my petticoats and my wedding dress.’

‘We’ll send them after you. The best thing you can do now is get on the boat. Go with Lord Woodward; he’ll make sure you’re next in the queue.’

‘You should leave too, Barky. He can’t know that you’ve been helping me.’

‘Old Barky can look after himself, Zillah. I said I’d see you safely off and I will.’

I held him tightly. I’d never be able to repay all he’d done for me. It was the story of my life: it wasn’t until someone was taken away that I realised how much they meant to me. My mother, Eustace, Mrs Bradley, and now Barky. The closest thing I’d had to a father.

Vincent stood up and held out his hand. ‘Come, Zillah.’

He pulled me over to where the man with the list stood. They put their heads together and I saw money change hands. I looked behind me but there was no sign of Crillick, just Barky watching on anxiously.

‘Go on, you can get on now.’

‘But Lucien isn’t here yet.’

‘He’ll be on his way. But you must leave now. If Crillick comes, there’ll be little I can do for you.’

My eyes were hot with tears. This was too many goodbyes, too quickly. Without thinking, I reached for Vincent for the last time. For a moment he did nothing and then I felt his arms close round me. He was my old life. Now that I had held it close, I could let it go.

I stepped back and there was Lucien watching us. His face was livid with anger. My embrace with Vincent had lasted no more than an instant, but I could tell it had confirmed all of Lucien’s suspicions.

‘Lucien …’ I started but my voice petered away. There was nothing I could say that wouldn’t make things worse. Once we were alone, I could explain, but this was neither the time nor the place. I looked at him with pleading eyes, willing him to understand that I no longer loved Vincent, if indeed I ever had. But his face remained stony.

‘Winters. You’re here. You must get Zillah aboard. Marcus Crillick is on his way and he’ll have the police with him,’ Vincent said, his brusque tone belying the consciousness that reddened his face.

‘Come here,’ Lucien said to me.

His tone gave me pause. I stood halfway between him and Vincent.

‘I’m waiting,’ Lucien said.