He was down to his breeches before he noticed that I’d made no reply. By then I’d lain back, too weary to stay upright. The bones of my corset weren’t quite so sharp when I was on my side.

‘I hope you’re not sulking about our day trip, Zillah. I said I would make it up to you.’

How could he think about Richmond after what we had just witnessed? It was almost as if the last half hour hadn’t happened. I couldn’t keep the anger from my voice.

‘I don’t care about that. I’m worried for that poor woman. She spoke to me, Vincent.’

There was the sound of water being poured and Vincent’s voice was muffled behind a flannel.

‘What could you possibly know of that gibberish she spoke? Besides, Elvira has already kicked up quite a fuss. Marcus will not be happy about it.’

It was the one bright spot, the way Miss Masterson had barrelled down to the front of the room to accost Crillick. I would’ve been scared myself if I’d seen her coming for me with such fierce intent, but I was glad the Leopard Lady had someone like that in her corner.

‘You know her well?’

‘Oh yes. She’s heiress to the Masterson fortune, but she won’t marry now. She has causes instead, lots of them. She’s quite formidable.’

There was a sneering tone to his voice that I didn’t like. It reduced Crillick’s treatment of the Leopard Lady, and Elvira Masterson’s reaction, to a spat between two people with opposing views. I raised myself up on my elbows to see him. He ran the flannel across the back of his neck and then returned it to the water. He seemed to be simply washing away the evening like any other.

‘Did you not see how they touched her?’ I said.

The pale spindly fingers of Lord this and Sir that had been everywhere. I shuddered to think of the way they’d prodded, pinched and poked, and the women no better. Worse, in fact, for surely many of them would know the sickening feeling of hands where they didn’t belong.

‘She’s a novelty, that’s why. Besides, when she goes onstage no one will get near her. Barky will see to that.’

‘Crillick’s not going to show her at the theatre, is he?’

‘He hasn’t told me much of what he has planned but, going by tonight, I think he’d be confident that the crowd will love her.’

I thought of the men and women who came to watch our show. How they bayed if there was the slightest delay and broke out into fights when they got bored in the interval. A funny sort of love, that.