Nine Shillings

Surprise! Surprise!

London - 1842

At the rate Millie was devouring the latest Dickens she'd run out of book by the end of the day. Her copy was signed by the man himself, courtesy of an encounter with The Reaper in a dark alley.

Josef had made Mary and Merry brightly painted wooden trains big enough to sit their stuffed animals on with trucks they could put things in. They were pushing them round the books Bran and I had stack liked buildings. Merry had made Patches a paper hat because everyone knew train drivers wore hats and Mary was pushing her train round and going, 'chugga-chugga, chugga-chugga, poop, poop'. Bran and I were playing too; he was grinning with such energy people who used to call him an 'old man' wouldn't have recognised him.

I smiled at the thought of how far we'd come since the night I kicked him in the balls and stole his pocketbook. And Merry was enjoying herself so much she hadn't noticed Josef was late back from his four day 'business trip'. Yet.

'You can't play trains if you don't push your train, Mummy,' Mary said. 'Unless your train is having a nap.' She frowned. 'It must be tiring being a train.'

'Your pappy distracted me,' I replied.

Mary wagged her finger at him. 'Stop distracting Mummy, Pappy, it's naughty.'

'I wasn't doing anything. Did you see me doing anything?' he said and tickled her.

She squirmed, laughing, and went on the offensive tickling him back. He tipped over and she jumped on him.

'Save me from the tiny terror, Charlotte,' Bran said as they wrestled.

Merry stopped, she made Patches climb off the train and change the imaginary signals then carried on round Mary and Bran. He was at risk of getting himself kicked in the balls again so lifted Mary off him.

'I was winning.' Mary stuck her bottom lip out at me.

'You have to let Pappy win sometimes,' I whispered. 'If you win all the time, people won't let their guard down so you can sneak up on them when you need to.'

She put her finger to her lips and said, 'Shhh' dramatically.

Bran lay on the floor as if he'd been defeated.

'Do you think the prince needs the princess to kiss him awake?' I asked.

Mary covered her eyes. 'Kissing is yucky.'

'Don't you want goodnight kisses anymore?'

She folded her arms and looked at me sternly. 'That's proper kisses. The way you and Pappy kiss is yucky.'

Merry pushed her train into Bran's side. 'Wake up, Pappy.'

Bran opened one eye and whispered, 'I'm very old, I need my beauty sleep.'

'If you have any more beauty sleep, you'll hurt my eyes, chuckaboo.' I offered him my hand.

Bran grinned and let me pull him into a sitting position.

'Stop making kissy faces,' Mary said, wriggling about.

I put her down and she and Merry set about exploring train land. I got on my knees beside Bran, curled my hand around the back of his head and gave him a soft kiss to a chorus of 'yuck'.

The front door rattled open.

'Hello?' Josef called.

'Daddy!' Merry grabbed Patches and her train and hurried out into the hallway.

Mary followed, trying not to drop the train tucked under her arm. Bran frowned at the library door, there was an unfamiliar scent.

'Mummy! There's babby!' Mary shrieked.