Snippet #1480253

Atticus watched with bleak amusement as one member of a rabble of street urchins walked straight into the woman meandering along the riverside, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a heap of petticoats and rags. The woman promptly dissolved into tears and Atticus turned away with a sneer of distaste. He had no time for tears or complaints about trivialities and he found weakness like hers unpalatable. She was a grown woman, for Christ's sake; he'd seen performers less able-bodied than her recover from falls five times the height without so much as a grimace. What would she do if one day she truly injured herself? Perhaps she should try falling fifty feet from a sabotaged trapeze, perhaps she should see her own splintered tibia gleaming pearly white beneath the blood, perhaps she should...

Rolling his eyes at his own absurdity, Atticus forced himself to his feet using his cane as leverage and turned to leave. But just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the woman jump hastily to her feet and run towards the buildings that backed onto the river holding her hand awkwardly.

Swiftly (or at least, as swiftly as his leg and a wish to appear inconspicuous would allow) he followed her as she slipped down a narrow alleyway. He had reached its mouth when he saw her carefully remove her glove to reveal the glint of metal.




Half a mile away, Freddie stepped off the HMS Highgate and breathed in the London air. It felt entirely different to the fresh, salt-tinged air at sea; it was thicker and bitter. But it held the promise of the city and Freddie was determined to enjoy it whilst his ship was in for repairs. His pay packet was burning a hole in his pocket and he'd already decided the first thing he was going to do when he set foot on English soil once again. Eat. And not salted pork or oat biscuits either. He was going to eat a sumptuous meal of battered fish and greasy chips sprinkled with salt and dashed with vinegar. He could almost feel the newspaper beneath his fingertips and taste the fried potato in his mouth when he set off along the Thames.