A Sister’s Sorrow. Kitty Neale

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       Chapter 10

      ‘Wake up, Sarah. Time to go.’

      Sarah awoke with a start. She rubbed her eyes and tried to focus. The morning sun was beginning to stream through the small window. She looked at Tommy and was surprised to see him still soundly asleep. Who had spoken to her?

      ‘Who’s there?’ she whispered.

      She stood up and tiptoed to the window, but couldn’t see anyone, though she was sure she’d heard someone speak to her. Tommy began to stir and yawned as he stretched.

      ‘Tommy, have you been playing tricks on me? Did you tell me to wake up and then pretend to be asleep?’ she asked, keeping her voice light.

      She could tell from the confused expression on her brother’s face that he didn’t have an inkling of what she was talking about. Time to go, she thought, recalling the words she’d heard. It was a warning, it had to be. They had to get out of the shed, quick! ‘Come on, Tommy, get up, hurry! We’ve got to go.’

      ‘All right,’ Tommy said slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

      Sarah was irritated to see he wasn’t rushing himself. ‘Now,’ she said firmly.

      Tommy stood up, and Sarah grabbed his hand before opening the door. To her horror she saw an old woman coming towards them. The woman’s back was bent and she was walking with a cane, but Sarah was amazed at the speed of the woman’s pace. Her hair was long and grey, which put Sarah in mind of a witch. She knew she should run but fear froze her to the spot. She stood stunned and watched as the old woman stopped just yards in front of her and began to angrily wave her cane, shaking it at Sarah. She had no doubt that the woman was more than capable of hitting her with it.

      ‘Go on, clear orf. I’ve called the police, you thieving bloody gypsies,’ the woman screeched.

      ‘I – I’m sorry … we – we just needed somewhere to sleep,’ Sarah said fretfully.

      ‘Well, you ain’t kipping in my shed. Go on, bugger off.’

      Sarah glanced at Tommy. The child looked terrified. She yanked on his hand, and within seconds they were through the gate, but she could still hear the old woman shouting obscenities.

      Once they were back on the streets, Tommy seemed to relax. ‘We was really, really, really quiet so how did she know we was in her shed?’ he asked.

      ‘I have no idea,’ Sarah answered, shaking her head, but as she remembered the voice, she knew that Mr Sayers had saved them. The woman had called the police and if they hadn’t been woken, the rozzers would have been on them before they could have made their escape.

      George was busy setting up his stall, but he couldn’t shake the thought of Sarah from his mind.

      ‘Penny for them,’ Roger called. ‘You look like you’ve been away with the fairies for the last half hour.’

      First thing in the morning, George would normally be full of banter and larking around with the other costermongers, but today he felt subdued. If he’d been blessed with Roger’s fine face, he might have had the courage to ask Sarah on a date, but, as was usual for him, he’d let the opportunity slip him by and now deeply regretted it. He could have kicked himself. He just hoped she’d pass his way again soon. ‘Sorry, mate, just got stuff on my mind,’ George answered, and forced a smile.

      ‘Oh, yeah. That wouldn’t be the pretty little thing I saw you chatting up yesterday, would it?’

      ‘Cor blimey, mate! You don’t miss a thing, do you?’ George replied, his mood lightening.

      ‘You know me. You’ve gotta keep your eyes and ears open here. Seriously though, who was she?’

      ‘I ain’t got a clue. I saw her sitting on the kerb. She looked down on her luck, but all I know is her name’s Sarah and her little brother is Tommy and they ain’t got no parents.’

      ‘You silly sod, fancy not asking her out! She was a looker, that’s for sure,’ Roger said, then tossed a potato over to George as he added, ‘That’s you that is, a proper spud head.’

      George caught the potato and laughed. Yes, when it came to women, Roger was right, he was a spud head, though he’d never heard anyone being called it before.

      Sarah held Tommy’s hand as she marched determinedly to the local shop. She knew they had a notice board where people would pay a small weekly amount to advertise on a card, and she was hoping to find a cheap room to rent.

      ‘Are we going to see George today?’ Tommy asked.

      ‘Not today.’

      ‘Ow, why not?’ he said, sounding disappointed.

      ‘Because it’s more important to find somewhere to live,’ Sarah answered, though she was reluctant to spend her money before she knew when more would be coming in.

      ‘Are we going to live in a proper house then?’

      ‘I hope so, let’s see,’ Sarah answered as they arrived at the shop. ‘Wait here, I won’t be long.’ She knew there would be an array of sweets displayed in jars behind the counter, so, to avoid temptation, she thought it best to go in alone.

      ‘Good morning, Miss,’ the shopkeeper chirped, but Sarah noticed he hardly lifted his eyes from the magazine he was reading.

      ‘Good morning. Is it OK if I have a quick look at your notices?’

      ‘Yes, of course, just don’t go unpinning any off the board. You’d be amazed at the number of people who see something they fancy and take the card with them.’

      ‘I won’t, but do you have a pen and paper I could use?’

      The shopkeeper looked up from his magazine and eyed her up and down. She knew she looked a mess, but she hoped her blue coat covered her scruffy clothes.

      ‘Here you go,’ he said, and took a pencil from behind his ear, handing it to her with a scrap of paper. ‘I shall want my pencil back when you’re done.’

      Sarah thanked the man and scanned the notice board. There were plenty of adverts for rooms and flats, but most were too expensive. Then she spotted one that looked affordable. A ground-floor room in a shared house. It was unfurnished СКАЧАТЬ