Cat Among the Pigeons by Julia Golding Read Free Book Online Page B

missy,’ said Hawkins gleefully. ‘You see, gentlemen, I’m an expert in judging human specimens. It’s my stock-in-trade – I do it all the time in the slave markets. I knew that my boy Pedro was gifted from the angle of his brow. Now, this gal here –’
    â€˜Ah! I see it,’ said Dr Juniper. ‘The red hairand green eyes of an Irishwoman – an inferior race, as I’m sure we all agree, only one step up from the African and Asiatic savage. And observe her thin, stunted stature.’ He took up Mr Hawkins’ billiard cue and pointed to me as if in a lecture hall. ‘Clearly not strong. I’ve no doubt she’ll end in an early grave.’
    â€˜And do you see the shape of her skull?’ Mr Hawkins continued. ‘I’ve seen the same on some of my slaves – all of them have been liars with no respect for authority. It’s in the space between the eyes – I can always tell. I make sure they’re assigned to particularly hard labour to keep them down.’
    â€˜Very wise,’ nodded the doctor.
    â€˜I pity your slaves, you stinking dog turd,’ I hissed at Hawkins, unable to stomach any more of this humiliation. ‘Let me go.’
    Hawkins shook his head and prodded me back into place. ‘And then of course there’s the limited vocabulary and resort to obscenities – another mark of the dull-witted. But the finalproof is in the teeth.’ He hooked my upper arm and dragged me towards him. ‘You’ll get some work from even the meanest specimen if their teeth are good.’ The gentlemen laughed and clustered round to take a closer look. One blew a stream of pipe smoke in my face. Hawkins thrust a finger and thumb into my mouth like a horse-dealer inspecting a nag at the fair. I tried to pull away but his other hand was clamped on my neck. ‘Hmm. Not bad – I’d buy her if she came up at a bargain price.’
    That was the final straw. I bit down on Hawkins’ thumb.
    â€˜You little witch!’ he shouted, pulling his hand away.
    â€˜You can stick your tickets up your bum,’ I shouted, anger coursing through me as I cast the tickets into the air like confetti. ‘And you can shove the receipt where the sun don’t shine.’
    I ran across the billiard table, kicking balls in all directions, and jumped off the other side. There was a door – I hoped it was my escaperoute. I threw it open and found myself in a vast library full of men in leather armchairs. The door banged against the wall. The murmur of quiet talk died, replaced by a horrified silence. They were looking at me as if I was something particularly disgusting that the cat had dragged in. Just at that moment, I hated them and everything they represented. ‘And to hell with you lot too!’ I shouted as I streaked across the polished floor. My heavy boots made an echoing noise as I galloped through, upsetting side tables and decanters in my passage. At the far side, I crashed into a waiter carrying a tray of drinks. Wine glasses exploded all around me as they hit the ground. Past caring, I ran full pelt down the stairs, ducking under arms that reached out to stop me, and burst out of the front door.
    â€˜And that,’ I heard one crusty member say loudly as I bolted on to the street, ‘is exactly why we don’t admit females.’
    An hour to curtain up. Pedro’s chief supporterswere gathered in the Green Room to plan how to distribute our forces for that evening.
    â€˜And what did you do then, Cat?’ asked Syd, rubbing the back of his neck in bewilderment.
    â€˜And then I bit him.’
    Pedro whooped and clapped his hands as Joe ‘The Card’ grinned like a basket of chips. Mr Equiano gave a throaty chuckle. Mr Kemble patted me on the shoulder, trying not to appear too pleased. Lizzie was the only one to look worried.
    â€˜I hope you bit him good and hard,’ said Frank, leaning