

Balker are told that Will's uncle will meet them at a seedy tavern called the Sickle Moon, but he fails to show up. Will's first night in London is disastrous. Despite the older man's misgivings and concerns for Will's safety, he agrees to do so. He asks his neighbour, John Balker the miller, to accompany him there. Shortly after his entire family dies of smallpox, young Will Godwin of the town of Adcombe is invited to London by an uncle he has never met.

Imelza is seduced by him and he impregnates her that night. When asked his real name, he identifies himself only as Imp.

In London in 1664, an orange tabby cat named Imelza encounters a black cat she comes to call Master Midnight. In 2004, it was published in the United States by Chronicle Books as The Alchemist's Cat. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1991 by Macdonald Young Books. Set in 17th century London, it serves as a backstory for the original trilogy's main antagonist, Jupiter. It is the first book in The Deptford Histories trilogy, a series of prequels to Jarvis's Deptford Mice books. The Alchymist's Cat is a dark fantasy novel for children by British author Robin Jarvis.
