Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

Author:Laura Amy Schlitz [Schlitz, Laura Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6246-2
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Published: 2012-10-07T04:00:00+00:00

While Lizzie Rose slumbered, Dr. Wintermute lay awake. For once, he was not thinking of Clara. He was thinking of Lizzie Rose. He recalled her stricken eyes when they parted. “You don’t know how it is with us — how hard —” He hadn’t let her finish the sentence. Now, in the dark, he finished it for her: You don’t know how hard our life is.

It was true. He didn’t know, but he could imagine. He had seen her shabby lodgings and sat by her meager fire. He remembered the darns and patches on her frock, and the way the sole of her boot parted from the upper. How could he, who had lived in comfort all his life, condemn her for stealing? The girl had no one to provide for her, no one to protect her. He remembered the beefy young fellow who had kissed her, and regretted that he hadn’t punished the man with his fists.

He thanked God he had not gone to the police station, as he had threatened to do. The girl might be telling the truth, after all; the photograph of Charles Augustus might have been stolen by Grisini, or even by the boy in Ebury Square. Perhaps if he questioned her a second time — kindly and patiently — she might tell him the truth about the matter. At the very least, he could apologize for his rash behavior, provide money for her immediate wants, and make sure that the beefy fellow left her alone.

He turned the thought over in his mind, and found, to his surprise, that it eased him a little. He closed his eyes and promised himself that he would return to Danvers Street that very day.

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