Dodger of the Dials by James Benmore Read Free Book Online Page A

Lily. She was not there however and I was still too sleepy to realise what that could mean. I closed my eyes again and returned to my dreams and it was some minutes later that I recalled that she still had the Lady of Stars around her neck.
    I then pounced out of the bed and I looked around the room most frantic. The necklace was nowhere. Not on the sideboard, not back in my coat pocket, not on the chair. She had taken it.
    ‘Lily!’ I screamed as I hopped into some trousers and placed the braces over my shoulders and ran towards the window, hoping that I might still have time to see her making off across the courtyard. But, save for some kinchins what was throwing pennies against a wall, it was empty. I darted out of the room, putting on my coat as I did so and dashed towards the front door calling her name. I passed the other open doors of our apartment as I ran – glancing in quick to see if she was in either the kitchen or the parlour – and was so gripped with the thought of my loss that I did not pay any attention to the small puddles of water what I almost slipped upon in my hurry. So it was not until I was halfway down thestaircase and into the bottom part of the house that I at last heard Lily’s voice. It came from behind me, she was still in our crib and the relief was overwhelming. The puddles was from the water buckets what she must have brought in up from the pump outside which meant she was bathing herself. My jumpy bones steadied themselves and I went back upstairs before Mrs Grogan could ask us what the racket was.
    ‘Where you off to?’ I heard Lily call from the back parlour. I stepped into the room what overlooked the backyard and saw her in the area not visible from the hallway. She was sat in the tin bathtub and there was three empty water buckets by the side of the tub. Her silk robe hanging from a wash-stand and she was scrubbing herself with some fancy bars of soap what I had stolen for her as a recent gift.
    ‘I was looking for you,’ I replied as my breathing began to slow again. ‘I had a panic.’
    ‘Ah, bless you,’ she said and pretended to splash me. ‘Thought some robbers had made off with me, did you? You are sweet.’
    I nodded to say that this was exactly what I had thought and then there was a second where we just looked at one another. I could see she was working out what had really rattled me but I could not help giving it away first. ‘Lily,’ I ventured – knowing what offense the question could cause – ‘where is the necklace?’ Her face darkened as she took this in.
    ‘Did you think I ran off with it?’
    ‘No!’ I returned and laughed at the ludicrousness of the idea. ‘Of course I never.’
    ‘You thought I’d stolen it from you.’
    ‘Course not! I wouldn’t even entertain the idea, Lily. I know you’d never do me a wrong turn.’ There was another long pause as she held my eyes and said nothing. I softened my voice and brokethe silence. ‘Where is it, though?’ She sniffed and turned her head towards the window behind her. On the dresser underneath I saw it wrapped within a small hand towel. I crossed over, unwrapped it and saw that she had given the necklace a good wash and was letting it dry in the sun. I took it in my hands and inspected it for damages.
    ‘You’ve given it a nice clean, Lily,’ I said as I held it up to the light. ‘Thanks. Percival should be well pleased with—’
    The door behind me slammed and I turned to see that the bath was empty and the robe had gone.
    For the next hour – and in spite of all my many attempts at appeasement – I could not get a civil word out of the sullen miss. I tried to cheer her up by promising her that I would take her to St Bartholomew’s Fair that coming Saturday – a social event I knew she was very keen on – and that I would be happy to pay for everything. But Lily was deep in sulk and so instead I just left her alone and readied myself for the hour when my gang would come to