by Sharon Sant
‘The wolves got in and killed only the adults who happened to be dressed in long black robes and have a load of swords with them? It won’t take long for people to work it out, Poll. I just worry about what, exactly, they will work out. It’s bound to be wrong.’
She waved a hand irritably. ‘We ain’t got time to worry about that now.’
‘I’m just saying –’
‘Will you stop your yammering?’
Isaac fell silent as they arrived at the door of the room where Annie and Charlotte waited. Many of the freed children lined the passageway, watching as they arrived and talking in hushed tones.
‘What’s going to happen to us?’ one girl asked.
Isaac looked at Polly. ‘We need to think about that,’ she replied. ‘But first we got something important to do.’
She turned and opened the door. Charlotte shot from the bed where she had been tending Annie.
‘Thank God!’ she cried, running to Polly and taking Georgina from her. Georgina squealed in delight, flinging her arms around Charlotte’s neck. Charlotte covered her face in kisses, laughing and crying all at the same time. ‘I thought I would never see you again.’
‘How’s Annie?’ Polly asked.
Charlotte turned to her. ‘Much the same.’ She squeezed Georgina a little tighter. ‘It’s such a pity, she would have been so happy to see her sister safe at last.’
‘I’ve been thinkin’ about that,’ Polly said slowly. ‘Isaac, go and check the window. Are the wolves still there?’
Isaac peered out onto the path below. ‘I can’t see them,’ he said.
Polly turned to Charlotte. ‘I think Clotpole over there was right for once. I think Georgie was weaving an enchantment on the wolves. I don’t think she knew what she was doin’ or how she was doin’ it but…’ Her gaze turned to Annie, still unconscious on the bed. ‘Perhaps we can get her to do it again.’
‘You mean heal Annie? But we don’t even know if she has healing magic and she’s too young to control it properly.’
‘I’d wager she has the same as Annie. And she probably don’t know how to use it but if you explain it to her…’
‘How am I to do that?’
‘I don’t know. But you have to make her understand. And right now, you’re the one who knows her the best. If anyone can persuade her to sing, it’s you.’
‘She’s a baby!’ Charlotte cried. ‘She’s not even two years old yet.’
‘But she can sing enchantments… we heard her.’
‘We did,’ Isaac agreed. ‘While she sang the wolves were outside but as soon as she stopped… well…’ he waved a hand at the window. ‘It looks like they’ve gone off. So she must have been doing somethin’ whether she meant it or not.’
Charlotte carried Georgina to the bed and sat next to Annie. Georgina peered over her shoulder and held out chubby arms for the sleeping girl.
‘You know this is your sister?’ Charlotte whispered. ‘You remember?’
Georgina squealed and reached for Annie again. Charlotte set her down on the bed where Georgina laid a hand on Annie’s cheek and gurgled quietly.
‘We must sing to her,’ Charlotte said. ‘We must sing to make her well.’
Georgina gazed at Annie. She patted her face but Annie didn’t stir.
‘Do you think she’s dying?’ Charlotte asked, looking up at Polly.
Polly nodded. ‘I think she might be.’
‘Georgina,’ Charlotte said, fighting back tears, ‘let us sing together. You want to sing with me? Come along…’ Charlotte halted for a moment and looked at Polly again. ‘What should we sing?’
‘Damned if I know,’ Polly replied. ‘I don’t think the songs old Ern’ sang around the house would be much good and I don’t know hymns on account of him never lettin’ us out on a Sunday for church.’
‘You wouldn’t have gone to church if he had let you out on a Sunday,’ Isaac cut in with a slight smile.
‘Probably not,’ Polly agreed.
Charlotte looked thoughtful. And then she began to sing. ‘All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all…’
Georgina looked up, her face breaking into a delighted smile. She clapped her hands.
‘You sing, Georgina,’ Charlotte said. ‘Come along… Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings…’
And then Georgina opened her mouth and began. It was a tiny sound that didn’t mean anything to anyone else, but Charlotte knew the sound well. Evenings had often found her mother singing hymns as she darned or washed. Charlotte would join in and then Georgina would accompany them with a funny little sound that always filled them both with joy to hear. Nobody else knew it was singing but they did.
‘Sing to Annie…’ Charlotte said, leaning close and encouraging Georgina to do the same. ‘Sing to your sister and make her well…’
Charlotte began again and Georgina followed. But the sound changed. It became more musical, more ethereal, just like the sound that Isaac and Polly had heard coming from the cage in the cellar. Charlotte began to sway and her own song died as she felt the enchantment take hold of her senses. The world was there, and yet not quite there as the music worked into her soul. The rest of the house fell silent, as if every child had been taken by the magic too.
And then, Annie’s eyes fluttered open.
Twenty-five
It was as if she had woken from nothing more than a deep sleep. Colour instantly rushed to her sallow cheeks and she gazed at Georgina, who had now stopped singing and gazed back.
‘I’m dreaming,’ Annie whispered. ‘I must be.’
‘You’re not dreaming,’ Charlotte laughed through her tears. ‘She’s here, safe and sound.’
Annie pushed herself up and gathered Georgina into her arms. ‘After all this time!’
Isaac wore a grin that threatened to burst from his face, and as Polly moved to his side, he threw his arm around her and pulled her close. For once, she didn’t wriggle from his grasp, slap him or call him names. She simply leaned her head into his chest and smiled as she watched Annie finally reunited with her sister.
‘How does it feel to do something good?’ Isaac asked her.
‘Don’t think I’ve gone all soft on you just because I’m lettin’ you have a cuddle,’ she replied, and his grin grew wider still.
Some of the children from the cages began to gather at the door to the room, peering in.
‘Blimey, I’d almost forgot about you lot,’ Polly said, turning her attention to them as she shoved a still grinning Isaac off.
‘What on earth…’ Annie began, but Polly cut her short.
‘It’s a long story and we don’t have the time to tell it here. First we got to work out how we explain a load of dead Brethren, a few less dead wolves and a load of urchins with nowhere to go, to the local constabulary without getting ourselves in trouble.’
‘I don’t think we can,’ Charlotte said, drying her eyes. ‘I don’t think we can go to the authorities at all. Who would believe our story?’
‘Well, we go to find somewhere who can take this lot in.’
‘How many are there?’ Annie asked with a bewildered expression.
‘More than I care to count.’
‘Mother could help,’ Charlotte said.
Polly turned to her. ‘She took one orphan in but I don’t think she’s going to take another hundred or so.’
‘No…’ Charlotte laughed. ‘But she’ll know who to go to for help.’
Polly went out onto the landing and clapped her hands for attention. Those children still in their rooms now poured out to listen. ‘We’re about to leave,’ she announced in a loud voice. ‘The wolves might still be out there but they might not. Either way we’ll do our best to protect you but we ain’t makin’ any promises. We’re goin’ to try and find you somewhere to live. Some of you might fancy tryin’ your luck on your own and if you choose to then the best of Britis
h to you. Some of you might want to come with us and we’re happy to have you along. We can’t say what will happen when you do but we’ll do our best to make sure you have somewhere dry to sleep and food in your bellies. So, you can make your choices now and we’ll leave in five minutes with those as want to come with us.’ She went back into the others. ‘Think that ought to do it.’
Isaac grinned. ‘I know who I’d be putting my money on if it were me deciding.’
‘I wouldn’t want you along, you’d slow me down,’ Polly fired back. She turned to Annie. ‘Think you can make the walk back to Ern’s place? We can hitch Chester up there and take Charlotte back home, talk to her mother while we’re about it and see what can be done about this stinkin’ bunch of urchins.’
Annie nodded. ‘I’m fine. I feel like I could walk to Dr Black’s a thousand times now that I have Georgina back.’
‘We only need you to do it the once,’ Polly said briskly. She turned to the others. ‘Right then… shall we see what’s what outside? Who’s for some wolf spotting?’
To anyone watching it would have looked a strange sight. Bedraggled, blood spattered, laughing and joking, Isaac, Polly, Charlotte, Annie and Georgina headed the front of a crowd of equally sorry looking children of all shapes and sizes as they trekked along the pathway that snaked through the heath. Night had fallen now and they shivered as their breath disappeared in smoky plumes into a night sky peppered with the brightest stars. But nobody complained of the cold. Some gnawed on crusts of bread salvaged from the kitchens before they left the orphanage for good. A few children, mainly older ones, had decided to take their chances alone and had departed with no ill feelings on either side. Now, Isaac held a flaming torch aloft as they led what was left of the orphans, as did Polly at his side, and a few of the older children at the rear of the crowd did too. But Annie was vigilant, and the wolves did not bother them, although they heard their howls out in the woods on more than one occasion.
‘You know,’ Annie began as they walked, ‘in a funny way, Georgina did turn out to be the babe of the prophecy.’
‘How do you reach that conclusion?’ Charlotte asked.
‘She toppled the order by destroying them.’
‘She didn’t destroy them, the wolves did.’
‘And who brought the wolves?’
‘We did.’
‘To rescue Georgina.’ Annie kissed her sister on the head as she carried her along. ‘You see?’
‘I suppose so,’ Charlotte replied with a slow smile.
‘But how do we know that the order has been toppled?’ Isaac cut in. ‘There might be hundreds of others around the world doing the same thing.’
‘He’s right,’ Polly said. ‘Think about it. Who assassinated Her Majesty? It weren’t old Finch, that’s for sure. The Brethren could be far bigger in number than we could imagine. And they must be powerful to have got so close to The Queen.’
They were silent for a moment before Charlotte spoke again. ‘So it might not be over yet?’
Polly shrugged. ‘Who knows?’
‘We must do our utmost to alert the correct authorities then and stop it.’
‘How do we know the correct authorities ain’t in on it?’ Polly replied serenely. ‘Think on that if you will, sweets.’
As they neared the dark hulk of Ernesto Black’s home it was almost midnight. Polly had wanted everyone to sleep there and move on in the morning, and Isaac had agreed with her, with the added proviso that Ernesto’s study be locked as his body was still in there and he didn’t think it would fill any of the children with confidence if they happened across it. But Charlotte was adamant that her mother would be waiting, awake night and day until she returned, and she didn’t want to make her wait any longer than was necessary. When Polly finally relented and Isaac offered to accompany her with Chester, all eyes turned to Annie and Georgina.
‘I know what I ought to do,’ Annie said with tears in her eyes. ‘It’s no life with me like she could have with you and your mother, Charlotte. And yet it’s awful hard to give her up.’
‘I know,’ Charlotte said softly. ‘And it’s a decision only you can make. If your conscience is clear, then you’ll know you’ve made the right one, whatever it turns out to be.’
‘You want her too?’
‘I do,’ Charlotte agreed. ‘She’s like a sister to me now and I love her dearly. But I have no blood claim as you do. Mother and I would be delighted to have her if you decided it was best. But I cannot blame you if you decide to bring her up yourself.’
‘I can’t give her anything,’ Annie said.
‘We’d help… right?’ Isaac put in, glancing at Polly who gave a nod of agreement.
‘Still…’ Annie sniffed. She held Georgina out for Charlotte to take. ‘Quick, before I change my mind.’
Charlotte was silent and thoughtful for a moment. ‘Come with us,’ she finally said. ‘At least see what Mother says.’ She smiled. ‘Perhaps she can be persuaded that we have room for one more.’
‘You mean that?’ Annie replied, her eyes wide.
‘You are Georgina’s sister and it seems cruel to part you. But you are right that she would be better living with us… you both would.’
‘But what about money?’
‘It would be hard but we’d manage if we all worked a little here and there. You and I are certainly of age. I may be able to gain some teaching…’
‘And I could grow things. I’m good at that. And I can tell the pesky crows not to come eatin’ our seeds.’
Charlotte laughed. ‘Then I think we should talk to mother and see what she says.’
Annie beamed at Charlotte and then handed Georgina to her. She turned and threw her arms around Polly.
‘I’ll miss you, Poll.’
‘No you won’t, I was vile to you.’
‘In the beginning. But I understand now. You were just trying to survive like the rest of us.’
Polly sniffed. ‘Come on, Clotpole. Get these ladies home before I start cryin’ or something.’
Isaac grinned and tipped his cap. ‘Certainly, my lady.’ He was now bundled up in one of Ernesto’s old woollen coats. It was deep blue, a little too wide for him and almost swept the floor. But, as Polly had remarked in a quiet voice to Annie a few moments before, he looked uncommonly handsome in it. Annie had simply smiled. He leapt up onto the trap and took Chester’s reins.
‘Ain’t you supposed to help them up?’ Polly snapped.
‘They can get up themselves,’ Isaac said brightly. ‘They done it a hundred times before.’
Polly rolled her eyes. ‘He may be wearin’ a gentleman’s coat but that certainly don’t make him a gentleman.’
With another hug and a laugh, Annie, Charlotte and Georgina joined Isaac. With a click of his tongue and a flick of the reins, he guided Chester out of the gates and set off for Charlotte’s house. Polly turned her thoughts to Ernesto’s house… her house, she reminded herself with a smile… at least for tonight anyway. Tomorrow was another day and she was not going to worry about what it might bring just yet. There was a ton of food in the pantry and a whole lot of hungry mouths to give it to. Tonight was going to be a good night.
Twenty-Six
Polly flicked through the dusty pile of papers. Isaac’s voice came from behind her.
‘Not those again, Poll. What’s the point?’
‘I’m goin’ to learn to read and then I’ll know everythin’ that’s in them.’
‘And then what will you do? Charlotte already told us what we need to know. It’s all over now and everyone’s happy.’
‘Ernesto was mixed up in this and he nearly got Georgina killed. And I nearly helped him. I have to live with that on my conscience.’
‘You put it right, as I knew you would. You’re one of the good ‘uns Poll.’
She put the papers down and turned to him. The sun slanted in through the high windows of the study throwing a slice of bright light across the room. Two weeks had passed si
nce they had rescued Georgina and spring was on its way. A story had spread through the area that the orphanage on the Uxmouth road had burned down in a terrible fire, and so, the decision they had taken with Charlotte’s mother not to report anything to the authorities had turned out to be a wise one. It was clear to them that the story of the orphanage burning down had been invented by the very same people they would have been trusting with the secret of what really happened that fateful day. And when Isaac returned one night on a covert mission, he found that the building was indeed a heap of ash, presumably with all evidence of everything that had ever happened there turned to ash too. It made things easier, however, when they had to find homes for the orphans. They told people that the children had fled the fire and come to them and the children were too scared to say any different. People were happy to believe it and homes were found. Ten or so remained with Isaac and Polly, who had decided to stay in their house and had buried Ernesto Black somewhere remote. They lived in fear of someone coming to look for him, but they were happy, for now at least. Recently, however, Isaac had found Polly in the study more than once, going through Ernesto’s papers for clues as to who or what they were dealing with, just how far the influence of the Brethren spread. He feared it was becoming an obsession, and it wasn’t a healthy one.
‘Just think, Poll… We saved the empire and nobody knows but us,’ Isaac said as he gazed down fondly at her. ‘Seems like a bit of a rum deal to me.’
‘You weren’t expecting a reward, were you?’ Polly asked. ‘Ain’t you learned yet that nobody rewards ragamuffins like us, no matter how many empires we save. Most important thing is we saved Georgina.’ She sniffed. ‘They’re still out there… The Brethren are still out there. There’s a new king on the throne but if they can kill Victoria they can kill him too and start all over again with new children and new sacrifices. They want the world and they’re still tryin’ to get it…’
