‘Gaffed is a horrible word, Zillah. I don’t want you to use it to refer to yourself again. There’s no reason for your secret to come out, is there? It’s in everyone’s interest to keep it. Marcus wouldn’t want it known that his star act wasn’t everything he said. They’d call him a conman, maybe even take away his licence. There’s no one you suspect would give you away, is there?’

I thought of the members of the cast. Of Mikey and Bob who appeared onstage with me. It was certainly in their interest to keep things quiet. But what about Aldous, who used to be top billing before I came along? What of the dancers? I wouldn’t put it past Ellen either. I thought of her as a friend but I knew she could be rash, especially if I angered her.

‘I wish I could get you away from there,’ Vincent said. ‘You can’t imagine how much I hate it.’

I shouldn’t have been surprised at the force in his voice. I knew he wanted me to quit the variety show. Never having had to work himself, he didn’t understand why my job, however unusual, was so important to me. From time to time he spoke about our future but, until he reconciled with his father, he had not the money to make his own choices. He didn’t even have a place of his own in London. Ever since I’d known him, he’d been staying at Marcus Crillick’s house.

‘I’ll start collecting you personally after every performance. You should wait in your dressing room for me.’

‘I can look after myself,’ I said.

‘But I want to do that for you.’

We were nearing Trafalgar Square. The great fountain was still on, sending plumes of water high into the air.

‘You were at the club tonight?’ I said, eager to change the subject, to hear about how he had spent his evening.

‘I was, and guess who turned up? Crillick. I wasn’t expecting him for another week or so but it seems he concluded his business early.’

That brought me up short. I’d not missed Marcus Crillick since he’d left three weeks before. Whilst he’d been on business on the Continent, I’d been staying with Vincent in Crillick’s house. I’d have to go back to my room at St Giles now.

‘You should still stay with me,’ Vincent said, as if he knew what I was thinking. ‘We don’t need to go back to meeting at Pascoe’s if we want to spend time together.’