Lady Lightfingers by Janet Woods Read Free Book Online

him and she gave a wry smile. ‘You can come and meet her now if you have the time; then you can decide if you want to remain friends. Our home is just round the corner.’
    He glanced at his watch and nodded. ‘Yes, I do have time.’
    It took them three minutes to get there. They went down a few stairs and she banged on a door and called out, ‘It’s me, Ma. I have a visitor. May we come in?’
    There was a muffled reply.
    Celia turned to him. ‘The ceiling is low so watch your head.’
    Through a door of rotting wood and over a solid stone step designed to keep rain from trickling in, Thomas found himself in a damp cellar with a flagged floor. There was a small grate with a stewpot hanging from a hook.
    â€˜Mr Hambert. This is my mother, Mrs Alice Laws.’
    The woman stood, automatically bowing her head from the danger of the low ceiling. She had a pale, pinched face, in which gaunt traces of a former beauty could be found. ‘How do you do, Mr Hambert.’ She crossed to where Celia stood. ‘You’re not in any trouble are you, Celia?’
    â€˜No. Mr Hambert thought he should meet you so you’d know he was respectable.’ Her hand went to her pocket and she handed over the two shillings she’d earned to her mother. ‘I earned this reciting a poem.’
    â€˜Good, that means we have enough to pay the rent with this week.’
    Thomas was getting a crick in his neck so he went down on his haunches and spoke to the small child who was gazing at him. ‘Hullo, my dear. What’s your name?’
    The infant gave a soft giggle.
    Mrs Laws smiled. ‘Her name is Charlotte, but we call her Lottie. Would you take a seat, Mr Hambert? You will be much more comfortable.’
    Thomas was horrified by the accommodation, but he realized it was as clean and tidy as one could make such a place. The tiny fireplace gave out very little heat, and in places mould slimed the walls where dampness had risen from the ground and was progressing upwards. Such cellars were not designed to accommodate anything but wine and rats, and it had a peculiar odour. His nose wrinkled. It was not one he wanted to identify.
    He took a seat at the rickety table and found his notebook. ‘Would you mind if I sketched the interior of your home? It’s for a paper I’m writing about social conditions of our time.’
    Mrs Laws gave her permission and took the child up on her lap. Celia bent to stir the stew.
    He chatted to Alice Laws while he worked, introducing topics she might be familiar with. She was intelligent, but ill at ease, appearing embarrassed by the squalor she was forced to endure.
    Footsteps pattered overhead and dust drifted down.
    Bit by bit he dug her story from her. A hasty marriage followed by desertion. She was middle-class and down on her luck, a country girl taken advantage of, but doing her best to survive. She had a persistent cough too, which boded ill for her future. Thomas wondered if she’d seen a doctor about it.
    â€˜I’m so pleased that Celia was able to return the watch she found, Mr Hambert. Thank your housekeeper for giving her a reward. I understand that you were absent at the time she went to your house to return it, so where did you make the acquaintance of my daughter?’
    He shifted his glance to Celia, who had the grace to look ashamed as he was forced to find the wit to lie. ‘I sought her out. Celia was pointed out to me on the street and I introduced myself.’
    â€˜Mr Hambert has bought me a copy of Robinson Crusoe .’ She handed it to her mother. ‘See, he has written a message inside.’
    She read the inscription and looked him straight in the eye. ‘That’s kind of you, sir. How odd that you picked the very same book that Celia has always coveted.’
    This woman was no fool, but she had a disillusioned air about her. She was nicely spoken and everything Celia had said she was. As far