An elegant, imposing man was promenading with a pretty girl on his arm. Her golden hair and wide smile distracted mefrom my task. She laughed at something the older man said, and her brightness struck me hard, maybe because I lived in a dark room and had a dark future. The last time I’d laughed had been when my parents and sister had been alive.
Her fine pink and white gown and velvet hat meant she lived in a different world from mine. There was no envy in that. It was only an observation.
The man removed his tall hat to greet passing ladies. In doing so, his coat opened, revealing his fat wallet half out of the pocket. With a little nudge, it would slip.
Easy. Too easy. I was almost insulted.
I wanted to smack the man on the head and tell him to be careful. The streets brimmed with criminals.
“Well spotted.” I poked Darius with my elbow.
We followed them. They stopped in front of the window of a pastry shop. Tall cakes decorated with sugar roses and violets competed for space. On cue, Darius’s stomach groaned again, and even mine grumbled at such magnificence.
A little pang of guilt gnawed at me, but I pushed it away. Causing the girl to suffer, even indirectly, didn’t sit well with me. I grimaced inwardly. Was I developing a conscience? First, I’d shown compassion for Darius and taken him in. Now this. What was next? Starting a charity? Conscience meant death on the streets, and a wallet was a wallet.
“I’ll take the right side. You the left. Keep up. I won’t slow down for you.”
I lifted the lapels of my jacket and pulled up my scarf to cover my mouth. A few feet from me, Darius breathed hard, but he matched my pace.
“…we could buy it for your birthday,” the man said as I walked closer to him. “And add those strawberry sweets you love so much.”
“Thank you, Papa.” She squeezed his arm and laughed, a pure sound that only someone who hadn’t suffered through hardship could produce.
I bumped into him and slid the wallet out of his pocket. “My apologies, sir.”
“Watch out!” He straightened his coat, looking at me as if I were the stupid one.
Idiot.
I sped up, grinning. Hands in his pockets, Darius was losing ground. So much for being useful. Never mind. I would keep the wallet.
I was about to round the corner and disappear into a dark alley when the blonde girl shouted, “That man is a thief!”
Darius skidded to a halt.
I chanced a glance over my shoulder. The pretty girl was pointing at me.
Damn.
Darius remained frozen while the gentleman strode towards me. I sprinted, my breath turning into mist in the humid air.
“You with the flat cap!” The gentleman was in full pursuit. “Stop!”
I raced faster. The gentleman had long legs and a bad attitude. Not easy to outrun. But I knew those backstreets like the fleas on the rats in my room. I took another side alley and almost slipped on the wet cobbles.
The sound of the footfalls behind me faded. I chuckled. Tired already, rich chap? Too many creature comforts slow the body.
I rounded another corner and took a shortcut, only to bump into the blonde girl. She cried out, her large sapphire eyes flaring wide.
“Papa!” Her voice came out strangled.
I sidestepped her and started to dash away when a thud and gurgling noises came. She was twitching and kicking on the cobbles, her body stiff.
A seizure. My sister had suffered from seizures.
I should run, but the girl might hurt herself. A thief was different from a murderer.
“Bloody hell.” I crouched next to her and lifted her head, lest her tongue roll backwards. “It’s all right. Keep breathing.”
