The Curio Collectors by Eloise Williams

Author:Eloise Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barrington Stoke Ltd
Published: 2023-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

The morning comes. We are tired from our disturbed sleep but also excited by the prospect of our investigation. Before the newspaper gets passed on to another trader, I cut the piece about Horatio Pinch out with Ma’s dressmaking scissors and put it in my pocket.

We work hard, performing another three shows back to back. Ma is delighted by the money we’ve made in collections and from sales to the rich people of Highgate. An ammonite fossil, a dried-up starfish and a stuffed cat have all been sold today.

Pinch shows up as the third show ends, and Ma shoos us away, much to our delight.

We sneakily take the shell and leave Pinch searching through the curios with Ma.

We might end up selling the scrimshaw to him, but me and Tom don’t like Pinch much. There’s something slimy about him and the way he was sneaking about in the night.

Also, I promised the maid she could have the shell, and I always keep my promises when I can.

We should tell Ma, but if we do, she’ll sell it to Pinch. She is smitten with him, and he would pay a better price, I’m certain.

“Come on, Tom,” I say.

We run all the way to the gate where the maid disappeared. But then we can’t think of an excuse for going into the garden and disturbing the people who own the house.

“We’ll just have to wait,” Tom grumbles, sinking down to a crouch as he feels the adventure slipping through our fingers.

Tom’s glumness spurs me into action. “I’m going to climb this wall to see if I can see her,” I tell him. “You be lookout.”

This is a quiet leafy street, but people do pass us occasionally. “What if we get caught, Lil?” Tom asks.

“I’ll only be a minute,” I say, and start to shin up the wall. It is high, but the ivy growing on it helps me to grip on, and I am a very good climber.

Soon I can peer over the top of the wall. We are in luck. The maid is in the kitchen garden. She’s talking to the flowers. It’s a peculiar thing to do, but I’ve seen much stranger things on our travels.

“Hello there,” I call to the maid, and she yells out, startled.

I climb a bit higher so that my face shows over the wall. “It’s me,” I say. “You wanted to buy a shell from me yesterday.”

The maid checks that no one is watching from the house and motions for me to get down. I do and go to the gate with Tom. Soon we see the maid on the other side of the iron bars. She lets us in.

“Quietly,” she says, and beckons us to follow. The maid leads the way to a kitchen entrance, then along a passageway and up the servants’ stairs to an attic.

She ushers us into a bedroom and shuts the door. My mouth falls open. The room is filled with shells and bones all engraved with different markings. There must be at least thirty here.

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