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think she needs your help. She is a Spartan woman, remember? And she has the look of a cornered she-cat. Have no fear, she’s well able for him .’
    This was becoming clear, even though Devereux was still circling her with his hands on his hips. His audience was getting restless and he was coming off badly against Lillian’s silent dignity.
    ‘So why are you here, Bryce? Trying to snare yourself a man, perhaps?’ He turned to his friends, ‘What about it, boys? Any takers? No? You see, Bryce, you can dress up all you want, but you’re not fooling anybody. What man in his right mind would go with a suffragette? Eh? I mean, just look at your father. He didn’t hang around once he’d realized his mistake. Daddy went running away to sea and never came back and who could blame—’
    She cut him off short with a slap. It was so hard that his head turned half around and he staggered backwards a few steps. The crowd gasped, but Lillian made no sound as she turned on her heel and walked towards the door. Her head was high and proud, but she was barely in control of herself. She looked as if she might cry. The crowd parted to let her pass and Devereux watched her leave with his hand to his cheek, his friends looking at him as if they wanted to laugh, but were afraid to.
    Billy had no such qualms. He chuckled gleefully and poked Stephen with his elbow. ‘What did I tell you?’ he whispered, ‘A Spartan woman.’
    Stephen hardly even noticed. He was staring at Devereux, who was still rubbing his cheek, but laughing it off with his friends.
    ‘That man is a pig,’ he said.
    ‘Indeed and he is. But she certainly put him in his place. Did you see that smack she hit him? God, I nearly felt it myself. But what was that crack about her father? I didn’t quite catch his drift, though she clearly did. Bang! Right on the kisser. That softened his cough, didn’t it?’
    ‘Her father was a sea officer with the White Star Line,’ Stephen explained. ‘He went down with Titanic.’
    ‘Oh?’ Billy stopped laughing and his face turned serious as his eyes darted from Devereux to Lillian, who had almost reached the door. A few curious heads turned in her direction, quite unaware of what had happened. ‘Well then, he certainly had that coming, the ignorant swine. All the same, I’m afraid he’s rather dished your chances of getting a dance. She won’t be back now – and more’s the pity. You couldn’t go wrong with a girl who has such a good right hook.’
    Stephen wasn’t listening to him. The crowd was dissolving, the tension easing, but he still felt it coiled up inside him. His head was clear now, his muscles tense. He’d never had anything to do with Devereux but he knew what he was like. He’d heard some of the talk that went on behind his back and he knew Devereux despised him, as he despised everybody who didn’t fit into his social circle. It could as easily have been Stephen he picked on instead of Lillian Bryce, and now Stephen wished he had. He was angry. Was this what burned inside his brother? This rage against injustice? Was it that hot? But Joe had it wrong. Joe was seeking to turn the world on its head, to pull down the pillars and let the roof come crashing down. That would never happen. It was just too big, too grand a scheme for mere men to manage. Devereux’s kind would endure. They would live through storm and flood, through war and revolution. The only way to deal with them was one at a time.
    The way cleared in front of him, and he picked his way through the crowd to where Devereux stood. He was still rubbing his cheek, but he was regaining his composure, holding court.
    ‘I knew they shouldn’t have let that Jezebel in here,’ he declared, as Stephen stepped in front of him. He was taller than Devereux, and held himself dead straight, his arms down by his side, his fists clenched. Despite the difference in height, Devereux still looked twice his size.
    ‘What do you want, Reilly?’ he sneered,