Read Online Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Eliza Granville
Ads: Link
more than a child, full of songs, old folk tales peppered with her own wild inventions – but he hadn’t given her subsequent welfare a second thought. The journalist shrugged and spread his hands.
‘Why would there be?’
‘Just wondered.’ Benjamin scratched his head. So Lilie might have been somebody’s maid – a
superior
maid, of course – who’d suddenly found she was without a job or home. Perhaps she’d been caught in such a trap as Hugo described, and escaped. That would explain the distressing state he’d found her in. Yes, that was it. They’d beaten her. They’d taken away her clothes along with her memory. But to her credit she’d refused to give in. Lilie was too sweet, too pure, to have been involved in any … his mind slewed away from the details, though in truth he frequently dwelled on far more elaborate fantasies concerning the two of them. It occurred to him that he’d stand more of a chance with a maid, superior or not, than the runaway daughter of a well-to-do family. A good thought, that. Not entirely fuelled by alcohol and warmth. However, he was no nearer to discovering Lilie’s real name. And it mattered.How could anyone live without knowing who or what she was? Benjamin blinked and sat up, realizing that Hugo was still holding forth.
‘Another few weeks and all the nice big houses in the
Altstadt
will be opened up again. We’ll have a new influx of young girls fresh from the provinces, eager to scrub floors and gut fish. Country wenches. Not, as you say, from
good
families, whatever that might be. Moneyed, I suppose you mean. But innocents, all the same.’ Leaning his chin on his elbow, he stared narrow-eyed at Benjamin for a long moment before adding: ‘Why don’t you start again and this time try asking the question you really want answered.’
‘I don’t –’
‘Fallen for a whore, have you?’
‘She’s not –’ Benjamin stopped dead. The blood rushed to his face. Fool. Shouldn’t have had the beer. He wasn’t used to it. ‘No,’ he said, firmly. ‘There’s no one. I was talking hypothetically.’
‘There’s a long word.’ Hugo raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re still intent on educating yourself, I see.’
Benjamin said nothing. The damage was done, so, since Hugo was footing the bill, he concentrated on emptying his second tankard and reached for another. His plan of one day entering the university as a student must remain a secret. Nobody, not even
Herr Doktor
Breuer, who had encouraged him to read more widely and even, to Gudrun’s disapproval, given him the freedom of his library during the summer, knew about that.
‘Sometimes,’ said Hugo, ‘more can be learned by people’s silences than their words. It’s the gaps in the conversation you have to listen to most carefully.’ He waited, then added: ‘Here’s what I’ve learned so far. You –’ He laughed and took anotherswig. ‘I’m joking. Don’t look so worried. It’s obvious you’ve come across some pretty wench who claims to be in trouble. She’s spun a story that’s brought out the knight in shining armour. Am I right?’
‘Well …’ said Benjamin, and stopped.
‘Put your cards on the table, Sir Galahad. What is it she needs you to find out? Has she done away with a carping housekeeper jealous of her youth? Fleeing a brutal husband, perhaps? Or is an embezzled employer on her seductive tail?’
‘Nothing like that.’ He gulped desperately at his beer. ‘She’s just –’
A glass of Obstler was set before him and Benjamin followed Hugo’s example, downing it in one swallow. He choked and was still clutching his throat when the sharp-featured man walked slowly past again, leaning to one side as the room tilted, his nose grown incredibly long, sniffing out trouble. Benjamin attempted to draw Hugo’s attention to him, but the effort was too great. Besides, his glass had been miraculously replenished … and again. The walls buckled, receding and advancing at an
‘Why would there be?’
‘Just wondered.’ Benjamin scratched his head. So Lilie might have been somebody’s maid – a
superior
maid, of course – who’d suddenly found she was without a job or home. Perhaps she’d been caught in such a trap as Hugo described, and escaped. That would explain the distressing state he’d found her in. Yes, that was it. They’d beaten her. They’d taken away her clothes along with her memory. But to her credit she’d refused to give in. Lilie was too sweet, too pure, to have been involved in any … his mind slewed away from the details, though in truth he frequently dwelled on far more elaborate fantasies concerning the two of them. It occurred to him that he’d stand more of a chance with a maid, superior or not, than the runaway daughter of a well-to-do family. A good thought, that. Not entirely fuelled by alcohol and warmth. However, he was no nearer to discovering Lilie’s real name. And it mattered.How could anyone live without knowing who or what she was? Benjamin blinked and sat up, realizing that Hugo was still holding forth.
‘Another few weeks and all the nice big houses in the
Altstadt
will be opened up again. We’ll have a new influx of young girls fresh from the provinces, eager to scrub floors and gut fish. Country wenches. Not, as you say, from
good
families, whatever that might be. Moneyed, I suppose you mean. But innocents, all the same.’ Leaning his chin on his elbow, he stared narrow-eyed at Benjamin for a long moment before adding: ‘Why don’t you start again and this time try asking the question you really want answered.’
‘I don’t –’
‘Fallen for a whore, have you?’
‘She’s not –’ Benjamin stopped dead. The blood rushed to his face. Fool. Shouldn’t have had the beer. He wasn’t used to it. ‘No,’ he said, firmly. ‘There’s no one. I was talking hypothetically.’
‘There’s a long word.’ Hugo raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re still intent on educating yourself, I see.’
Benjamin said nothing. The damage was done, so, since Hugo was footing the bill, he concentrated on emptying his second tankard and reached for another. His plan of one day entering the university as a student must remain a secret. Nobody, not even
Herr Doktor
Breuer, who had encouraged him to read more widely and even, to Gudrun’s disapproval, given him the freedom of his library during the summer, knew about that.
‘Sometimes,’ said Hugo, ‘more can be learned by people’s silences than their words. It’s the gaps in the conversation you have to listen to most carefully.’ He waited, then added: ‘Here’s what I’ve learned so far. You –’ He laughed and took anotherswig. ‘I’m joking. Don’t look so worried. It’s obvious you’ve come across some pretty wench who claims to be in trouble. She’s spun a story that’s brought out the knight in shining armour. Am I right?’
‘Well …’ said Benjamin, and stopped.
‘Put your cards on the table, Sir Galahad. What is it she needs you to find out? Has she done away with a carping housekeeper jealous of her youth? Fleeing a brutal husband, perhaps? Or is an embezzled employer on her seductive tail?’
‘Nothing like that.’ He gulped desperately at his beer. ‘She’s just –’
A glass of Obstler was set before him and Benjamin followed Hugo’s example, downing it in one swallow. He choked and was still clutching his throat when the sharp-featured man walked slowly past again, leaning to one side as the room tilted, his nose grown incredibly long, sniffing out trouble. Benjamin attempted to draw Hugo’s attention to him, but the effort was too great. Besides, his glass had been miraculously replenished … and again. The walls buckled, receding and advancing at an
Similar Books
