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“Are we getting close?” Hannah asked.

Samuel turned his head to peer through the carriage window. The only light came from the two lanterns Prescott had lit at the front of the vehicle.

“I cannot say for certain,” Samuel said. “But I believe we just entered Bishopsgate Street.”

At his side, Alfie squirmed. “What’ll they do t’ me at this place?”

“If we are fortunate, you will be given a bath, some clean clothes, and a bed,” Samuel said.

“And food,” Hannah suggested hopefully.

“You may have to wait until morning for food,” Samuel said, and Hannah was instantly sorry she’d spoken. “But I can promise you that you shall eat better than you did with Charlie.”

“I dunno ’bout a bath.” Alfie sounded wary. “Do I ’ave t’ do that?”

“With the way you smell, I can guarantee it,” Samuel said.

“But I don’ smell any different than th’ rest o’ ya.”

“Truer words were never spoken,” Hannah’s father said. “We are all overdue for baths.” He sniffed his sleeve. “And clean clothes.”

The carriage slowed, and the seat beneath Alfie creaked.

“I . . . uh . . . I dunno ’bout this.” Alfie’s wariness now sounded more like panic. “Charlie said th’ people ’ere toss boys on boats an’ don’t let ’em off. I . . . I can’t swim, so I reckon I’ll jus’ get out an’ find me own way instead.”

“Steady on, Alfie.” Samuel’s arm shot out, preventing the squirming boy from reaching the door. “As soon as the carriage has stopped, we’ll both get out.”

“But that marine place . . .” Alfie swallowed. “What if I ’ate it there?”

“It will be different from what you’re used to,” Samuel said. “But they’ll give you the chance to create a whole new life for yourself.”

“I’s all right with what I ’ave now.”

The carriage stopped, but no one inside the vehicle moved.

“Stealing from others is a poor excuse for a life, Alfie,” Samuel said. “And Charlie cares more for himself than for you or anyone else. You witnessed that for yourself today.”

Alfie sniffed and ran his arm beneath his nose. “Th’ lady’s th’ only one who’s ever kept ’er word t’ me.” He coughed again. “She came back.”

Hannah’s chest tightened. She was not nearly as noble as Alfie thought. If she’d met him on any other day, he likely would have stolen her reticule, and she would have been furious at him. As it was, when she’d come upon him, she’d been given a glimpse of a vulnerable young boy beneath a hardened facade. It was a perspective she could not ignore.

“Alfie,” she said. “I have come to trust Mr. Ross completely, and so can you, but if you would like me to accompany you to the Marine Society’s door, I am happy to do so.”

“Ya’d do that?” It was impossible to miss the glimmer of hope in Alfie’s voice and equally impossible to ignore it.

“Of course.”

“You are in no fit state to venture out again, Hannah,” her father said sternly.

“I shall be fine, Father. It will be a very short walk from the side of the road to the building’s front door, and I am certainly well enough to go that far.” She paused. “If you are more concerned about my disheveled appearance, however, I am quite sure that if I stay clear of the carriage lamplight, the darkness will hide my state of disrepair.”

“If Hannah wishes to walk Alfie to the door, I shall return her safely to the carriage afterward, sir,” Samuel said. “And though I am much obliged for your willingness to make this detour, once Alfie is safely delivered, I shall send you on your way without me. I must return to Bow Street.”

“You are sure?” Hannah’s father asked.

Prescott opened the carriage door, and Hannah did not wait to find out if her father was questioning Samuel’s desire to walk to Bow Street or his willingness to escort her. “Come, Alfie,” she said, already exiting the carriage.

“Honestly, Hannah!” Her father’s reprimand was all but lost in the clatter of Alfie’s tumbling departure from the vehicle.