“They beat you and starve you.”
Yes.
“Do they give you drugs?”
Yes.
The promise to help him burned on the tip of her tongue. But the captain was right again. Taking home a stray dog was one thing. Helping a young man escape a circus was another. Still, how could she leave him without giving him a ray of hope?
“I’ll do everything I can?—”
“Vivienne!” Mother grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the cage. “What were you thinking? Getting close to this beast.”
Dobkins gasped, her eyes widening.
“He isn’t dangerous.” Vivienne actually wasn’t sure about that. “We must help him. He can’t talk and doesn’t want to be in a cage. And he’s drugged.”
Mother touched Vivienne’s face as if searching for injuries. “He can’t talk because he wasn’t raised by humans. And he’s filthy. You’ll catch a disease.”
“No, really. We must call the police. He’s frightened and needs our help.”
Dobkins shifted her gaze from her to Lion Boy.
“I’m telling the truth,” Vivienne said. “He can understand me. I asked him questions, and he’s in pain.”
“It’s not your responsibility.”
“I want to help him.”
“We’ve been here for too long.” Mother took her hand and dragged her away.
She glanced back at Lion Boy one last time before Mother turned a corner and the cage disappeared from view.
The boy’sdesperate face kept flashing across Vivienne’s mind as she sat in front of her vanity that night. Her skin smelt of kerosene, no matter how much rose cream she applied. She hadn’t protested about the smelly bath, not to enrage Mother further, and she was too worried to care anyway.
Dobkins brushed her hair, gently untangling the long dark tresses. “You’re quiet, my lady.”
“I can’t stop thinking about that poor young man, locked up in a cage, beaten, and drugged. And for what? So that Cade can show him to the world and make money. It makes me ill.”
“How do you know he’s drugged?”
“Captain Jackson said?—”
“Did you talk to him?” Dobkins walked around the stool to stare at her.
“I didn’t mean to. I bumped into him when we were in front of Lion Boy, and he told me the young man had been drugged and likely couldn’t talk. I want to help Lion Boy.”
“I understand, but let’s say Captain Jackson is correct. How do you think you’re going to help Lion Boy? There’s nothing you can do for him, and I’m sure it’s all a show. When the circus is closed, the young man will have a laugh and leave the cage. He’s probably making a lot of money as well.”
“It didn’t seem like that. You should have seen his eyes. He was crying. He was frightened and couldn’t voice his protest. It’s awful.” A sob shook her. “No one cares.”
“You care too much.” Dobkins finished braiding Vivienne’s hair.
“I want to go back to the circus when it’s closed and see for myself if I’m right.”
“Absolutely not! You aren’t going anywhere. It’s dangerous. And not because of the germs.”
“I need to see him again before the circus moves out of London. I need to make sure he’s all right. Will you come with me?” She squeezed Dobkins’s hand. “Please.”
