The Unstoppable Letty Pegg by Iszi Lawrence

Author:Iszi Lawrence
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

第十四章

JŪ YON

Lettice missed the sound of the piano. All her mother wanted to do was rest and sit in the dark. Lettice wanted to tell her about her training. She could now defend herself from a (very slow) knife attack and she had managed to throw Mr Garrud with such momentum that he spun all the way down the mat and crashed into Edith. She wanted to share tales of Miss Lilburn and Miss Horvat, who were both so vicious that they came away with clumps of hair missing and had given each other black eyes, though after each session they were best of chums. Lettice wanted to tell her mother about all of it, but Mrs Pegg would only half-heartedly respond when her daughter touched her hand or kissed her cheek goodnight.

Lettice’s grandmother had paid for a doctor to visit, but he advised against Lettice’s mother having visitors and so Florry’s life was very restricted.

‘It’s important the invalid is not overly stimulated,’ the doctor said. Fat chance of that, Lettice thought. Her mother was like a prisoner in her own home.

Fortunately for everyone, the doctor’s visits had not gone unnoticed and Mr Pegg was forced to accept the charity of his neighbours. Women from the church, Mrs Gue from across the hall, Mrs Miranda from upstairs, and Mrs Key from the bottom flat came every day, bringing with them pots of soup, pies, puddings and biscuits. Tilly was quite shaken with all this activity and, after watching Mrs Gue clean up the kitchen, must have felt that her usefulness to the household was dwindling. She therefore made considerable efforts to ensure everything was spick and span and glowered at Lettice every time she dared dirty a cup or move a cushion.

It had been a long time since Mr Pegg had played any games with Lettice. It was clear he was worried about his wife. He kept bringing her things: novels, embroidery kits, magazines (non-political ones), puzzle books, drawing pencils… and they were accepted with kind words but left untouched.

Florry preferred to sit quietly. The longer she stayed in isolation in her room, the sadder she seemed to become. It was like her soul had escaped when the policeman threw her down, but left her body on earth, sitting in a darkened room with nothing to do.

In her bedroom, Lettice looked again at the picture she had taken from her mother’s diary: her mother holding her and laughing, baby Lettice beaming back up at her, the strange furniture, the handsome man standing behind them. It seemed like another world. Lettice wished she could see her mother that happy again.

Lettice carefully placed the photo back in the trunk under her bed. She took out her policeman’s notebook and added to her sketches of all the locks and throws she had learned that evening while they were still fresh in her mind.

Jiu jitsu lessons soon became a hub of gossip about the goings-on in the suffrage movement. After the Battle of Downing

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