Of an instant another blow came from the dark, this time catching me on the left.

'And that is for your brother.

I brought my gloved fingers to my stinging cheeks, amazed the old witch had so much strength in her. Part of me wanted to lash out blindly and give as good as Id just got, but another part of me whispered that I should bide my time. Lady Ginger never did nothing without a reason, did she? The last time Id seen her it looked likely that the next trip she took would be to a churchyard pit, so why was she here?

I heard her cough in the dark. Moments later the end of her opium stick glowed again. As I became used to the darkness I began to make out a shape opposite. The red point moved and I caught the wet glint of her eyes. I felt for the cords securing the curtains.

'I would appreciate it if you kept them drawn.

'How am I supposed to know where I am?

'You will know soon enough.

Apart from the glowing tip of her stick and the occasional flash of a jewel, she was just a shadow. I dropped my hand into my lap.

'Y . . . you said it was for Joey. Where is he?

There was a sticky smack as she took the stick from her lips.

'Where indeed?

'But I thought you- The hand lashed again. Something hard caught the point of my chin and I cried aloud.

'You thought what, Katharine?

'That youd know where he was. You have spies working for you everywhere, dont you?

The sucking noise came in the dark.

'He is not in Paris. I know that much, so I must conclude that he is here. I understand he came to London with the woman to collect the child?

'You . . . you know? But you didnt say anything about her Della. You said . . . you told me that Robbies father was playing a dangerous game.

'Naturally. A Romanov prince married to a black woman? A prince, moreover, who has been forbidden to bear fruit? How could that not be dangerous and to so many? Repeat to me the message I gave you, I wish to hear it from your lips again so that I can be very sure your brother did not misunderstand.

'Bartholomew waits thats exactly what I told him.

The stick flared brightly for a second.

'Then Joseph is the fool I suspected. Now listen to me and listen carefully. Tonight they will test you. No matter what happens do not react. Many people rely on you now, Katharine, and you must be strong. If the Barons do not find my choice to be worthy, they will move and you and everyone you know will suffer. Do not mistake me.

'There you go again, you and Telferman together. You both have a lot to say, but you dont tell me anything. You just crumble ideas into my head like youre hand-feeding a chick.

She didnt answer. The opium stick glowed and dimmed a couple of times before she spoke. 'Mr Pope tells us that a little learning is a dangerous thing, but he is mistaken. The more you know about the Barons, Katharine . . . she sighed. 'I have tried to protect you, but tonight . . .

She tried to swallow a cough. When she continued her voice came out on three wheezing notes at one time, like it was broken. She put me in mind of a boy whod just scraped the first layer of fluff from his chin.

'Have you never wondered how Paradise found its name? It is the land of plenty a land of spices, silks, jewels, exotic creatures of bestial and human kind. We have fallen, but the wonders and riches of the world are crammed into the warehouses that huddle beside the Thames.

'And whats that got to do with tonight?

'Tonight you will meet the men who run the City and, by extension, the men who rule the Empire. Your holdings, Katharine, are the gateway to the Empire. It is your strength and your weakness. Remember that, always.

I ran my hand over my bag. Telfermans notes were rolled inside. She was right about riches.

'What about Queen Victoria then and Mr Gladstone? Dont they have a say in the order of things?

Lady Ginger barked like a vixen. She laughed so loud I thought she might do herself a mischief.

'P . . . puppets! She could hardly get the word out. It turned into another choking fit.

'You thought your bravura display in the cage was a trial, did you not?

I nodded in the dark as her shattered glass voice came again. 'Did you not?

'Yes it was a test. Thats what you said.

'It was a mere game compared to what is to come. Tonight you must give the performance of your life. It is always the way when a new Baron is invested. I have seen- She broke off as a deep rasping cough stole the words from her lips. I waited for her to finish. When nothing more came I asked, 'What? What have you seen?

'Enough . . . The tip of the opium stick winked. We must have been passing down a well-lit street now. As the carriage bounced over a rut one of the curtains moved forward and I caught a sudden glimpse of her before the fabric shifted back. She was there for a moment and then she was gone a tiny chalk-white face swaddled in a mound of furs.

My grandmother cleared her throat. 'Enough to convince me that what I have done for Paradise was justified. Tell me, Katharine, was there a time when you thought of me as the Devil herself?

Now shed put the thought in my mind, it was difficult to shift.

'We we was terrified of you all of us if thats what you mean. Even Fitzy. Tell truth, even now, she still put the fear into me. I couldnt see her proper in the dark, but I could feel her. I said I reckoned I could sense something savage rolling off Della Lennox when she fought for her boy and it was like that now, here in the carriage. Disease riddled my grandmothers body like colours through a hapenny sugar stick at the fair, but the embers flickering in her soul could fire up a furnace.

'Good! It was almost a whisper. Her sour opium breath filled the carriage as she exhaled. I began to feel a lightness in my head.

'Take me as your pattern, Katharine. You cannot be their friend. Paradise is more than three theatres. They are merely a painted facade. Surely you know that now? You have responsibilities that weigh far heavier. You might dream of running Paradise in a new way, I dare say you would call it a fair way, but that is not possible. Not now, not while the Barons are circling.

Her words put me in mind of Telferman. Id no doubt hed been reporting everything back, right down to the brand of soap I used to wash my hands and face of a morning. Truly he was a beetle, scuttling around in the skirting, living off dust. What was the point of Lady Ginger handing Paradise and everything in it over to me if all she was going to do was sit on my shoulder? Besides, it was a cess pit it needed cleaning up, just like The Palace. I was always good with a mop and she knew it.

I folded my arms. 'What did you expect? That Id just pick up where you left off? I shook my head and heard the beads in the tiny blue bird sewn to the veil of my hat rattle.

'All that filth, all that corruption? It cant go on like that. Dont think I havent yet scraped the bottom of it, because I have and what I found disgusted me. The little girls in Orchard Court? All of them under nine . . .?

I waited for an answer that didnt come.

'That was well named, wasnt it? All them children ripe for the picking by dirty old goats who were five times their age. Well, I put a stop to it. Three of them are training up to work in my halls now and a dozen more are at school. And I pay their board.

'Your halls? Lady Ginger began to laugh. The broken sound bubbled in the dark. 'By my count you have just one left. Where will they all go now, Katharine? Where will they earn the fair wage you so foolishly promised? Where will those little girls you . . . emancipated work now?

I clenched my fist. 'Ill see it all right, somehow. Ill find them something. You said you knew me. If thats true you knew how Id go about it. Paradise is rotten as a tanners pit, but I can make it a better place.

'Can you? And do you think the Barons will accept that? Her voice was tight, like she was rolling something tart around her mouth.

'Theyre going to have to. I gripped the edge of the seat as the coach veered to the left. I flinched as a claw-like hand closed over mine. Even though she was less than a foot in front of me now, I still couldnt see her face, but I could smell the tomb stench of her breath.

'Do you never stop to consider for a moment that, once, I too might have wanted Paradise to be a finer place? That I might have tried- She broke off as the driver thumped twice on the roof overhead.

'Already? We have wasted so much time. Listen to me, child . . . I blinked in the dark. My grandmother had never called me that before. 'I chose carefully. Once I was chosen and now I have made my choice. The Barons always name their successor, it is the custom . . . but that person is tested as you will be tonight. They will be watching. You will be the only female in their number, Katharine, as I was. It is a dangerous path walk carefully, traps will already be set. If you want to deal fairly for your friends and those you care for you must become cold and hard as a diamond.

Her grip tightened.

'Do you understand me?

'You mean I have to be like you?

The clawed hand released mine and felt its way over my lap, climbing to my waist and up to my breast to rest over my heart.

'You already are like me, Katharine, like the girl I was, but you will have to be dead here . . . her hand plucked at the ruffles of satin sewn down the bodice, 'if you truly want to protect Paradise.

There was a soft rustle as she leaned back into the seat opposite. A moment later she began to cough. I caught the faintest glint of her jewelled rings as she moved her hands to her mouth. I wondered if I should go to sit beside her as the choking rattled from her lungs, but she quietened and spoke again.

'I fought so hard, for such a long time to keep the wolves from the gates. There are worse than me . . .

We shuddered to a halt and I was thrown back into the padded leather. There was another rap on the roof and a click as the door opened. The carriage was flooded with light. I screwed up my eyes and leaned forward.

Outside a dozen foot away I could see two figures standing either side of an arched entrance. They both carried a flaming torch. Just above them there was a tall narrow building, timbered over and plastered in the old style. The uneven panes of the wide windows set in two rows overhead reflected the torchlight.

I turned to my grandmother and stifled a gasp at the shrunken face huddled in the furs. Her head shook slightly. There were open sores across her nose and cheeks and the scraps of grey hair that still clung to her head were scraped up into a mangy knot at the crown. Clots of rubies shivered from her ears. I thought about her making herself ready to come to me and all at once the jewels seemed ridiculous and defiant.

She waved the opium stick in front of her face, so I caught the tang of it in my nose.

'It is a cruel death, but there are worse. Go now and remember what I have said.

I never thought that sitting in a carriage with Lady Ginger would seem like an appealing way to spend an evening, but now it came to it, I didnt want to leave her. I stared at the men and the torches again and felt my heart racket off the cage of my ribs.

'You must go, Katharine. They will be waiting.

I pulled my skirts together and moved to the edge of the seat. I reached for the leather strap hanging above the door to steady myself and turned back to my grandmother.

'Where are we? Im here now, so I may as well know from you.

Lady Gingers black eyes slid to the flame-lit gateway visible through the open carriage door. She took a deep, shuddering breath.

'Smithfield has always been a place of blood. The Barons of London have gathered here for nearly seven hundred years. You are about to be inducted into one of the oldest guilds of the City at their ancient church. St Bartholomew the Great.

Chapter Thirty-four.

The door slammed shut behind me. I whipped about but the carriage was already moving away. I watched until it turned a corner, clutching the handle of my bag so tight my knuckles cracked aloud. I turned back to the archway. The men with the torches were watching. I walked slowly towards them and paused when I was level. They both dipped their heads and the one on the left nodded the way through.

A line of torches glowing beyond the arch marked the way. I went through, hearing my feet echo from the stones that fanned overhead. It was a gatehouse leading to a path through a churchyard. On the left torches set into a high bank made my shadow flicker over the wall on the right, like there were two of us walking towards the open door.

The flames threw the building into shadow. I was aware of the bulk of it looming over me, but I couldnt see it clear. I knew where I was Smithfield Market and the hospital were close by but Id never been to the church before.

A single bell sounded the hour. It wasnt the bell at St Bartholomews, the sound came from somewhere else. In a moment a dozen bells went off, all of them clanging just the once as the City marked the first hour of May Day in ragged time. Oranges and Lemons that was their song, wasnt it? Joey and me sang it as kids. It was a pretty tune. I ran it through my head as I paused at the black doorway and then I wished I hadnt.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed.

Here comes a chopper to chop off your head, Chip, chop, chip, chop, The last mans . . .

'Late.

The voice came from the darkness inside the doorway.

'You are late. The session begins on the stroke of one. You have already disappointed us. Follow.

Footsteps sounded on stone, the crisp clipped rapping growing fainter as the man moved deeper into the church. I tried to steady my breathing as Madame Celeste had taught me. It was a cold night, but under my dress something trickled between my shoulder blades and snaked down my back. Beneath the buttoned leather my palms sweated round the handle of my bag.

I looked up at the stars glittering in the clear sky thousands of brilliant-cut gemstones scattered across a jewellers cloth.

Cold and hard as a diamond.

I stepped inside.

The smell came first. Mice, must and centuries of dust and damp. There was a bit of incense there too a ghost of it anyways. It made me think of Misha that sharp cologne of his. I pushed the thought away but the trace of him lingered.

Incense at least it would have made Lucca feel homely. I wished he was here.

I was standing in a stone lobby. Ahead, a crack of light divided a pair of heavy curtains. I went forward and pushed them aside. I was at the right-hand side of the church. Five foot in front of me a dozen lighted candles sprouted from a metal tree, dripping wax and light into a pool on the stones. They lit up a ledgerstone set into the flags. The name and dates were unreadable. Centuries of butchers boots, most likely, had worn them away, although I doubted many of them were regulars now. The Smithfield men I knew were more likely to worship at The Old Red Cow.

I moved to the right. I couldnt see the rest of the church from where I stood on account of the wide columns blocking the view. The sound of my heels catching on the stones came too loud. I tried to walk dainty, but of an instant the echo of my boots was drowned by voices mens voices speaking together, almost like a chant, only not as musical.

As I rounded the pillar to stand at the far end of the aisle, a span of rounded black arches marched away from me on either side. Halfway down more candles burned in brackets set on the columns and on the arms of floor-standing metal trees set between the arches. The voices came again. One man called a question and others answered.

'Do you bring news, brothers?

'Aye, we do.

'Is your parable clothed in truth?

'Aye, it is.

I walked towards the sound. As I moved deeper into the church I began to make them out. Dark figures holding lighted tapers stood just inside the arches leading up to and circling round the altar. I couldnt see them all, but I counted the flames. Eleven there were eleven of them.

As I came level with the first man I stopped. He was old and finely dressed. Sparse grey hair fell to the collar of his floor-length coat. He glanced over at me and his lips curved into a smile beneath his long nose. He inclined his head, but he didnt miss his place in the chant.