Lucca stared at me and I stared at the trunk. He pushed his hair back behind his ears and bent to release the three clasps along one side. As the last one clicked open he spoke.

'Do you have something to tell me, Fannella?

Chapter Nine.

If I held my head to one side it was a bird, maybe two of them twined round each other. I narrowed my eyes. No, that werent right, there was just one black body. It had two heads, though, which struck me as unnatural.

I swept Lady Gingers dice up into my hand and scattered them across the desk again. They fell in a splayed triangle and I stared at the markings on their upper faces until the lines started to blur and shift for themselves. The same thing came to mind.

Whatever it was, it wasnt the answer I was looking for.

There was a knock. Before I had a chance to tumble the dice back into their rough green case, Peggy walked into the room that had, until the day before yesterday, been Fitzys parlour at The Gaudy. Robbie was planted on her hip.

'Weve been charming the ladies this morning, havent we? She jiggled him about and he squealed with pleasure. I noted that his big brown eyes never left her face as she settled in the chair across from me.

'Hes got quite an eye, Kitty. He likes the pretty ones, dont you? She shifted him onto her lap and bounced him about a bit, producing another gurgle of excitement.

Now, I knew Peggy would know what to do with a baby, but I have to admit that the way Robbie Lennox had taken to her was quite surprising. Looking back, Id even say I was green of her, did I but know it.

'Do you want to hold him?

I shook my head. 'He looks very happy where he is.

Tell truth, every time I held him I felt like I might break him. He wriggled and fretted in my arms and his brown skin bruised up easy, even though I didnt cling tight. Not having much experience of handling anything more domestic than a mop I thought I was doing it wrong.

Lucca had been a wonder on that journey home. Once wed got Robbie out of the trunk he was a natural with him. Then again, there was a time back in his village in Italy when hed had four younger brothers and two sisters to look out for, so he knew what he was doing.

Hed had plenty to say to me about it all and none of it was too comforting but every time that baby made a sound he gathered him up in his arms, sang to him in Italian and was soft and sweet as mother Mary herself. Anyone passing our compartment would have taken us for a proper little family.

Peggy dabbed at some dribble on Robbies chin. 'Youve got his poppet, havent you, Kit?

I nodded and opened the drawer to my left. The small soft rabbit made from squares of brightly patterned cloth sat on top of the letter David had left in the trunk for me. Id found it at the bottom after taking out a few bits of clothing, a blanket, glass feeding bottles and several large squares of cotton for Robbies necessaries.

I handed the rabbit to Peggy and scooped up the dice.

'I dont know how you can touch them bleedin things, theyre evil, just like she was. Peggy shuddered. 'There he goes . . . She started to bounce the rabbit about on the edge of the desk.

I poured the dice back into the case and put it in the drawer on top of Davids letter. If Id hoped that it was a message of a personal nature, Idve been very much disappointed. The envelope contained travel papers, good forgeries they was too, and a loving description of Robbies likes and dislikes, accompanied by some advice on the best ways to handle him feeding and that. He didnt take to cold so he was to be kept well wrapped. Apparently he had a tooth coming.

I realised then that David Lennox didnt have me down as the maternal type, not like Peggy. I closed the drawer and smiled as she hopped the rabbit back and forth. Peggy still had black rings under her eyes and I knew there was a rough bald patch at her crown where her thick dark hair wasnt growing. A few days before I went to Paris, Id helped her find a mouse in Mrs Conways wig store to cover it.

Id told her pretty much everything about Joey and Paris, excepting going into personal detail about Robbies father, and she was happy as a sparrow in springtime to take care of the little one for me. I had so much on my plate that I couldnt handle him, but I wanted to make sure he was cared for right, and Peggy was just the girl.

As far as she knew, I was looking after Robbie as a temporary favour to one of my brothers friends none of them being the maternal type neither . . . which wasnt far off. When I told her about it, she didnt roll her eyes and she didnt mouth a mealy judgement, she just took the little lad in her arms.

Now, I didnt want any more acid talk about me in the halls than was already scraping the paint off the walls, so I asked her to put it round that she was sitting the baby for her cousin up Archway who had a misfortune to attend to and everyone seemed happy with that.

Anyway, Robbie was good for Peggy.

Since that time at the warehouse shed been low. Of course she had anyone who knew the half of what those girls had been through would understand it. Wed sworn all of us never to talk about it to anyone. Thing is, Polly and Anna, they didnt want to be seen as damaged goods and I could see the justification of that.

They were damaged all the same, mind, damaged somewhere inside their heads. Polly had moved up north with her boy, Michael, and pretty red-haired Anna worked at The Gaudy where I could keep an eye on her.

I shut it all away in a place light never fell. I made sure of that. But Peggy wasnt like me, and worse had happened to her. I dont know what exactly, we never touched on the detail. All I knew is that she felt unclean, worthless somehow and it made me sick to the stomach to think that someone as good and decent as my friend Peggy Worrow should ever think that of herself. If the man responsible was in hell and I was sure he was I hoped Old Nick was making him comfortable.

I locked the drawer and slipped the key into my pocket. 'Theyre just dice, Peg. The parrots worse. It stinks, it doesnt like being alone and it curses like a dockers nancy, only in her voice. Its a good thing Robbies with you most of the time, or hed pick up a filthy mouth. I swear its like shes in the room at The Palace with me sometimes.

'Watching you! Did Joey know where shes gone? Peggy huddled Robbie closer.

'No. He knows nothing more than I do, except that she has another place somewhere. Not here in Limehouse.

'Well, lets hope she stays there. Peggy looked at me narrow. 'You still all right about this, Kit?

I nodded. 'Look at him. He couldnt be happier.

'Not Robbie. She smiled as a fat brown fist flailed against her arm to reach the rabbit. 'I mean whats happening to you. Whats happening here. Its all so . . .

She paused and shrugged. 'Youre still the same Kitty, thats what Ive been telling everyone.

'What are they saying about me, Peg?

She looked down to the floorboards where Robbie had dropped the rabbit. I could tell she didnt want to catch my eye.

'Well?

'You know how they all go on the girls in particular. Its just spite and flouncing mainly. But then theres Fitzy.

I snorted. 'I thought hed be happy to get his feet under Mr Leonards desk at last. Hes always wanted The Comet.

It was true enough. The Comet was the finest of Lady Gingers halls. It was no secret that Fitzpatrick had been itching to squeeze his wide chequered buttocks into the leather seat formerly occupied by Mr Leonard, the previous manager. The poor man had gone missing around the time Lady Ginger held her last gathering sitting like a queen up on The Comets curved stage while two of his fancy chorus girls had their heads shorn in public by her Chinamen. She was putting on a show for us all, making an example of Frances Taylor and Sukie Warren who had talked a little too freely about her affairs.

That was the same day The Comets plaster ceiling came down, taking me and my cage with it. Lady Ginger werent too happy about that neither. I hoped dapper Solly Leonard had retired to his sisters place in Kent, but something told me that these days he was more likely to be pushing up daisies than pruning roses.

I was sorry I liked him, which was more than I could say for old Fitzy with his tooth-rot breath and wandering hands. Trouble was, I needed him. No one kept order and no one knew the business of running the halls like he did. I didnt want him near me, but I didnt want to lose him not yet, anyway. Thats why I sent him over to The Comet.

'Whats Fitzy been saying? I leaned forward, drumming my fingers on the wood. 'You might as well tell me, Peg. Id sooner hear it from you than anyone else.

She hefted Robbie about in her lap. David Lennox was right, he was a bonny bairn.

'Hes been stirring it with the hands. Putting it into their heads that youre not up to it that theyll be out on their ears looking for dock work come summer because the business will fail. She took a breath and looked at me direct. 'He says its not natural them taking orders from a "chit of a girl". She mimicked his heavy Irish.

'Well, thats rich he was happy to take orders from Lady Ginger for long enough!

'But she wasnt a girl, she was a . . . Peggy trailed off. She was one of the few people who knew Lady Ginger was my grandmother and now she was uncertain what to say.

'She was a vicious old bitch, I finished off for her. 'But she was a woman and Fitzy worked for her they all did. What does your Danny think?

'After what happened hed do anything for you you know that, Kit. She shook her head. 'But hes confused as well. One minute youre a slop girl in the gallery, next youre an act and now youre running the place. They all want to know whats going on.

I circled the pad of an index finger over a knot in the wood of the desk. She was right.

Apart from Peggy, Lucca and the Beetle, no one else knew exactly why Lady Ginger had left The Gaudy, The Comet and The Carnival in my hands, but I wasnt ready to explain it to them yet. And whats more, I wasnt ready to explain to anyone other than Lucca that Id inherited a lot more than three flea-ridden halls on the Citys skirts. I wasnt even ready to face that myself or the meeting with the Barons. Every time I thought about it my mouth went dry. In a couple of weeks time at the beginning of May Id be dandled like a kitten in front of the most deadly company in London. It was a thousand times more dangerous than being hoisted up in that cage every night.

Just bringing it to mind now made my back prickle with sweat under the cotton blouse. I was beginning to wonder about the decision Id made that day. I still had the words of the letter my grandmother left for me in her room at The Palace in my head.

The choice is yours, Katharine. You can walk from this room today and live a small, narrow life or you can build your own empire. Perhaps a better one. You have proved yourself capable in more ways than you know.

Capable of what? Everyone knew how the Barons ruled London.

'You need to make them respect you, Kit.

'Respect? My head shot up in surprise but, of course, Peggy meant the hands.

I smiled. 'Now thats a funny word to use. Dont you mean fear? If you think Im going to call a gathering to lay down the law like The Lady used to, youre mistaken. Im not her and Im not going to run the halls like she did. Im not. I thumped my hand down hard on the table and Robbie stopped wriggling and gurgling. He looked across at me and his lower lip trembled.

I stared at the bare walls of The Gaudys office. Fitzy had carted his cheap patterned china, the fringed shawls and embroidered cushions over to The Comet. For such a big raw bruiser, his taste in furnishings was surprisingly dainty. I had no doubt that Mr Leonards pristine office now looked like a trollops parlour. And knowing Fitzys keen appetite for gin it most likely smelt like one too.

Looking back it was odd, but the only items in the way of decoration Id brought in so far had belonged to Nanny Peck. Id tied her old plaid shawl over the back of the chair I wrapped it round my shoulders for comfort when I was going over the books of an evening and Id placed a chipped blue and white jug that had come over from Ireland with her on the mantle over the fire. Every spring Ma filled that jug with daffodils and set it on the table in the front room at Church Row. That seemed like a hundred years ago now.

After Ma had died, The Gaudy had become a sort of second home for me Joey had seen to that. I think it was why I wanted to set up my office here because it was a familiar place in an uncertain land. It was comforting to be with my 'family.

I laughed out loud. Id just parroted Lady Ginger at her most 'maternal.

'You all right? Peggy frowned. 'You still got a scar from that accident in Paris. Knocks on the head like that can be dangerous. Ive heard you can go weeks before the effects show up and by then its too late.

I touched the crusted scab on my temple. I thought Id pulled my hair forward enough to cover it. 'Is it obvious? I asked. 'Do I need to dip into Mrs Conways paint box?

Peggy shook her head. 'No, but it dont matter about the size. Its where you were hit that makes the difference.

I thought about that trolley again. Tell truth, Id thought about it quite often since we come back. I couldnt shake the thought that the porter whod knocked me over the platform and into the path of an oncoming train had known exactly what he was doing. Lucca was furious with the man, but when I finally told him what had happened there being the question of a mysterious wailing baby in a trunk to deal with first we were steaming through the countryside somewhere between Paris and Calais so it was too late to do anything about it.

When hed calmed down a bit he said he was sure it was accidental, on account of the smoke and the crowd at the station, and he reckoned my recollection was likely muddled by the blow Id taken. But I wasnt so sure.

Robbie started to cry now. He squirmed in Peggys arms and plucked at the cotton of her dress with his fat little fingers. She began to rock him back and forth.

'Hes tired, Id best get him home. Dannys built him a crib, one that rocks. Your Luccas going to come over and paint it.

I let that pass.

'That working out all right then? I nodded at Robbie. 'Danny doesnt mind you looking after him for me?

She grinned broadly. For a moment there was a real flash of the old Peggy. 'Course not. Sometimes I think hes more fond of him than I am. He can tell Robbies good for me, and besides, the moneys handy, Kit. Im grateful for that we both are.

'He still playing with the flat boys? I thought hed given up on all that. I tried to make the question sound casual.

Peggy shrugged. 'He swears on his mothers Bible hes not, but then half the pages are missing.

'Surely he knows by now you cant throw good coins after bad? They never come back.

'Hes promised me, Kit, and . . . and I want to believe him. Whats this, young man? She dabbed the corner of her neat white cuff at something dribbling from Robbies mouth.

I smiled. 'Well, if anyone can knock some sense into Danny Tewson you can, Peg, and you can keep an eye on him too. Im glad you two are together now. You couldnt go back into lodgings on your own, not after . . . I didnt finish, but Peggy knew what I meant. She stood and hoisted Robbie onto her left hip.

'Come on then, handsome. Mustnt forget poppet, must we?

She scooped the patchwork rabbit from the floor. I watched as she knotted the ears securely around her belt, all the while swaying from foot to foot to soothe the kid. Like I said, she was a natural.

I could afford to pay Peggy well to look after Robbie Lennox. The Beetle griped about it, but I was happy to set up a regular arrangement. I knew Danny was relieved too. According to Lucca he still hadnt got his gambling under control, although he talked often enough about paying his dues and swearing off the cards.

'He couldnt be in better hands, Peg. Thank you. I stood and went round the desk to hold the door open for her. Outside in The Gaudys main hall the murmur of work and conversation stopped for a fraction of a second as the hands and a group of the girls who were practising a new routine looked round. I could feel their eyes sliding over me, but then they all fluffed themselves up and carried on from where theyd left off.

Peggy leaned across to kiss me on the cheek, careful to let everyone see it. I was grateful to her.

'Thank you, I mouthed.

She smiled. 'No need to thank me. Im glad to look after him, especially when you think about that business in Mordant Street.

She saw that I was confused. 'You havent heard?

I shook my head. 'Heard what?

'There was a fire last night. Mrs Cudlipps place you know, the baby farmer thats what people said of her anyway, God rest her soul.

'You mean shes dead?

Peggy nodded. 'Her and the four little ones she was boarding. Danny heard it was a fallen candle. Whole place went up in less than half an hour. They were all asleep on the top floor. She cuddled Robbie close to her chest. 'Doesnt bear thinking about, does it?

I watched as she walked to the back of the hall, picking her way round the tables set up for the night. She was thinner now too, I noted. Shed lost the plushy bloom that made Fitzpatrick watch her like a dog at a butchers window.

She stopped for a chat with a couple of the girls. When I heard them laughing, it cut. No one was easy like that with me these days. Tell truth, since that very first night up in the cage Id felt like someone held apart just as Lady Ginger intended.

'Why the sad face, Mistress Kitty? I turned. Old Peter was leaning against the curved apron. He was wearing a cape and a flat cap, his beard waxed into two points. Behind him one of the hands was testing the limelight flares. As The Gaudys stage flooded with sudden brilliance, it threw half of Old Peters face into shadow, giving him the look of a pantomime devil.

I say old, but he was probably a decade younger than Fitzy. He always looked sad that was the thing, it was why he seemed ancient. The Gaudys cornet player had the drooping donkey eyes of someone whod seen a lot and suffered for it.

I went over to stand next to him and watched the lad, Eddie I think it was, fiddle with the cylinders along the edge of the stage. 'Careful you dont want to lose a hand. Eddie jumped like a roach on a skillet and scuttled off into the wings. Another one wary of me, I thought. I looked up at Old Peter. 'Kittyll do fine. Youre early, arent you? Doors dont open for another hour and a half tonight.

He raised the cornet and it shone in the limelight. That instrument was his pride and joy, he never went anywhere without it. He even called it Zhena, which means 'wife back where he came from.

'They need music to rehearse. He nodded at the girls who had been talking to Peggy shed gone off with Robbie now. 'Its a new song and a new dance. I said Id play for them . . . as I played for you.