Read Online Cat Among the Pigeons by Julia Golding - Free Book Online Page A

your guard yet. Until I see Hawkins sailing away from England, I won’t be convinced we’ve really won.’
    â€˜Cat! Cat! Wake up!’
    I retired late and had only caught a few hours’ sleep when I found myself being shaken awake.
    â€˜W-what?’
    â€˜Get up, you silly girl. You’ve got to go.’
    I opened my eyes to find myself staring up at Mr Sheridan, my unofficial guardian and the owner of Drury Lane. Back from his visit to the countryside, he was now in the Sparrow’s Nest, standing over me with a candle. This was all wrong: he never came up here. Something very serious must have happened.
    â€˜Is it Pedro?’ I asked, throwing off my blanket.
    â€˜No, you fool,’ he said tersely. His dark eyes glittered angrily at me. A jolt of fear pushed me to my feet. Mr Sheridan was all that stood betweenme and destitution: it was by his permission that I found a roof over my head at Drury Lane. If he was furious with me then I was in serious trouble.
    â€˜What have I done?’
    â€˜You tell me, Cat.’ He strode to the window, his back turned. ‘I get to my club and find it in an uproar. Apparently some vandal rampaged through the members’ library shouting obscenities. How shocking, I thought. Then I find out that the same person had nearly severed a finger belonging to a very respected gentleman. Dreadful, thought I.’ He faced me. ‘Finally, I’m told it was a girl from Drury Lane and that an official complaint has been made. A warrant is out for her arrest for assault and destruction of property. You can thank your lucky stars that I’ve arrived before the runners, who, I’m also reliably informed, will be only too delighted to take you into custody. If I didn’t owe you one for looking after Johnny, I would have left you to them. What did you think you were doing?’
    I stared at him in horror as he said allthis, my mind refusing to take it in.
    â€˜It was Pedro’s old master, Mr Hawkins. He stuck his fingers in my mouth,’ I said in a hollow voice, thinking some kind of explanation was required.
    â€˜Cat, you expect me to believe that a grown man put his fingers in the way of your teeth and you just happened to bite down on them?’
    â€˜He was pretending to buy me,’ I protested, ‘like in the slave market. I felt humiliated.’
    Mr Sheridan ran his fingers through his hair and swayed slightly. He’d taken in a lot of wine tonight, I could tell, and was perhaps wondering if he’d heard me properly.
    â€˜Sounds like he was teasing you, Cat. You shouldn’t have let it get so out of hand. But no matter. I can’t hide you from the runners – you’ve got to go, and go now.’
    â€˜But where can I go? This is my home!’ I whispered faintly.
    Somewhere down below, there came a banging on the stage door.
    â€˜Open up! Open up!’
    â€˜It’s them!’ hissed Mr Sheridan. ‘You’re going to have to leave through here.’ He gestured to the window. ‘They’ll be watching the doors.’
    I nodded, my brain finally recovering from its bewilderment. I was dressed only in my nightgown. Grabbing a few belongings together in an old sewing bag, I threw the window open, then turned round.
    â€˜I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused, sir. Thank you for warning me.’
    â€˜Get along with you, Cat,’ he said, ruffling my hair in his old affectionate manner. ‘You’ll be back, I’ve no doubt. Here!’ He thrust some coins into my hand. ‘Stay away from the obvious places where they’ll look for you – Grosvenor Square, the butcher’s shop, and so on. And keep out of any more trouble.’
    I nodded and clambered on to the sill as Mr Sheridan closed the window behind me. Clutching my bag under one arm, I scrambled up on to the ridge of the roof and sat astride it. Ifyou edge along the ridge to the gable