Marlow’s curiosity and his deep instinct determined that he would talk to the young woman. After all, what was there to lose by it? If his suspicions were wrong, then he would simply apologize and that would be an end to it. If he were right however, and this Molly was the child who had ensured that old Sal was not buried in a pauper’s grave, then he owed her a great deal. But he must be careful, he reminded himself, because according to Nelly, the young woman had been caught picking pockets on that day when Nelly came to her rescue. She was obviously in poor straits and desperate enough to lie, cheat and steal in order to better her station. While he had every sympathy and was not averse to helping the more deserving amongst the unfortunates of this world, he had no desire to be made a fool of, nor to be misled by the quick tongue of a conniving thief, who saw him as an opportunity to be exploited. He must not rule out the possibility that the unfortunate creature whom Nelly took in was not the one who had been raised by old Sal, nor that, given enough information, she would not hesitate to claim otherwise, in order to pick his pocket in much the same fashion as she had picked many another.

The first thing he must do, though, was to talk again to Nelly, and see whether she knew anything at all of the young woman’s upbringing. Besides which, he would need to find out where she lived, and whether Nelly would accompany him to that place. Now that he had made up his mind to talk with the young woman, and was determined to be cautious in his approach, Marlow felt easier than he had done for days.

From the mill yard below, Mick Darcy had seen the solitary and thoughtful figure of Marlow standing behind the office window and surveying all below. He thought for a moment of the troubles that might haunt a man in Marlow Tanner’s position – a wealthy and successful businessman, yes, but at the same time just a man, a father who had recently lost his only son, and a husband whose wife was so stricken with grief that it was rumoured she hardly set foot outside the grand house on Park Street.

Bending his back to the stack of bales that needed loading on to his barge, Mick sighed and shook his head, thinking how, even for all the lands and fortunes that Britain was presently adding to its vast empire, he would not want to be in Marlow Tanner’s shoes.

Mick Darcy would be the first to admit that he had never worked under a better man than Marlow Tanner. It occurred to him in that moment how, if the opportunity were ever to present itself, he would be quick to help his employer in any way he could, though for the life of him he could not see how such a situation would ever arise.