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“How was he dressed?” Amelia thought of another question. “Was he wearing fine clothes or not?” Elsie shook her head to this question.
So, it wasn’t some gentleman’s son come to sneak into the home of the Monster of Mosebridge, Arthur thought to himself. A similar article almost managed to ruin his life once. Now, there was another one out there. He feared that perhaps whoever visited his home unannounced perhaps tried to leave a more permanent mark on it by setting it on fire.
The thought enraged him. The very fact that someone was willing to risk injuring someone else for their own fun was unthinkable. Yet, he knew that there were some malicious people in this world. In fact, they were downright evil. All he wanted to do was steer clear off them, especially now that he had a reason to be happy.
“If we go and try to find him,” Amelia suggested, “would you be able to recognize him?”
Elsie seemed certain of it as she nodded. Amelia sighed, turning to Arthur. “I don’t know who that boy was, but it wouldn’t hurt to go and find him in either case. If he was just playing and then wandered off here, at least we can be certain that he wasn’t to blame.”
Arthur nodded. That sounded like a good idea. Although, looking for a little urchin on the streets of London was like trying to find a needle in a haystack – in other words, it was close to impossible. But at least, they had something to go on. This was a small boy with a black eye.
How many of those were there in the city?
CHAPTER26
They had spent the entire day strolling aimlessly through the murkiest streets of London in an effort to find the infamous boy with the black eye. In Amelia’s eyes, they were all so different from each other, yet the mischievousness merged with sadness in their eyes was shared by each and every one of them.
She and Arthur would wait for Elsie’s reaction, but she did not recognize any of them. After hours and hours of useless walking, Arthur was the first one to suggest that they end their search, at least for the day. Amelia wasn’t all that keen on stopping. She wished to find him. She needed to know, just like she was certain Arthur wished to know what happened, and if that boy had anything to do with the fire.
Only, she wondered if Arthur might be disappointed if they did end up finding the boy then realized that he was not the one to blame for the fire. To be quite honest, she could not imagine a small boy setting a fire. It made no sense. Why on earth would he sneak into someone else’s home only to do something so utterly destructive? What on earth could have possessed him to do it? It simply made no sense.
Amelia sighed, patting Elsie on the shoulder, because Elsie was in front of her, gazing at a small group of children, playing across the street.
“Let’s go home, Elsie,” Amelia suggested, realizing that Elsie was not turning around. Her gaze was focused on the children.
Amelia pulled Arthur by the hand, stopping him from going back towards their carriage which was waiting down at the end of the street. Arthur turned around, puzzled. Then, he noticed Elsie’s gaze. Now, all three of them were looking in the same direction.
Amelia could not believe it. Right across from them, a boy was laughing, having fun with the other children. There was an unmistakable dark stain around his eye which no one apart from them seemed to notice.
“Elsie, is that him?” Amelia whispered as if the boy had unusually sensitive hearing and would be able to overhear them. Elsie just nodded, not taking her eyes off of him.
Arthur heard it all. Before Amelia could say anything, he started across the street, heading towards the group of children with a determined look on his face. The children didn’t notice him come at first, but the closer he got, the more anxious they became regarding his presence, especially the boy with the black eye.
At that very moment, the children scattered like bats in a disturbed cave. They darted to all sides, but fortunately, Arthur managed to keep his focus on the only one that they needed. He grabbed the boy by the shoulder, obviously trying to be gentle, but the boy was trying to free himself in every way possible, so he was tugging and yanking, all to no avail.
By that time, the girls had crossed the street as well, and now, they were all standing huddled in a circle. A few curious onlookers gave them a puzzled glance, but no one dared to question what was going on. Amelia thought that was so sad. Here they were, three grownups, obviously endeavoring to take a child against its will, and no one was willing to offer him protection. They merely walked on by, minding their own business.
Amelia got down on her knees, disregarding the fact that the ground was dirty and muddy. Her action surprised the boy so much that he immediately stopped fussing, focusing all of his attention on her, the lady who didn’t care if the dirt from the street got on her pretty dress. Somehow, the sight calmed him.
“We won’t hurt you,” Amelia spoke softly. She tried to sound even more soothing than usual because she could see that the boy was frightened. She could understand his point of view. But they needed him to tell the truth. Fear might prevent him from doing that. She needed to assure him that they were not his enemies. They were here because they needed his help.
Still, after hearing her first sentence, the boy was as suspicious as before. He didn’t say anything. His eyes inspected Amelia first, then Elsie, and finally the man who had his hands on him. Amelia could see that Arthur was trying to be as gentle as possible, but that was hard because the boy could easily escape if Arthur did not have a firm grip on him.
“What’s your name?” Amelia asked tenderly, placing one hand on the boy’s shoulder. She could feel him trembling underneath her touch.
“Oliver,” he whispered barely audibly.
“Oliver,” Amelia repeated with a smile. “That is a lovely name.”
The more she spoke, the more he focused solely on her, which is what she wanted him to do. He seemed beyond frightened.
“I need to ask you something very important, Oliver,” Amelia continued. “And I would like you to be honest with me. Can you do that?”
He waited a moment then nodded. His brown eyes were wide with suspicion still. She had no idea if he would even tell them the truth, but she needed to try.
“He’s hurting me,” Oliver suddenly said, lifting his gaze to Arthur, who seemed surprised with the accusation.
He opened his mouth to say something, probably to assure Amelia that he wasn’t do any such thing, that he was simply holding him firmly, but Amelia just nodded to him, signaling that no explanation was necessary.
