Lady Friday(35)

She didn’t mention that this was a trick she’d learned from her friend the Ship’s Boy Albert, who’d been killed by Feverfew. Skiving, he’d called it. The trick was to find something that looked like it needed to be delivered somewhere else on the ship and then you could walk around for ages with it before someone in authority noticed and took action. Denizens in particular were susceptible to this ruse, as they couldn’t imagine someone inventing a task for themselves.

‘But if you’re caught somewhere you shouldn’t be, they’ll blame me!’

‘If you won’t help, then you’re as bad as She is,’ said Leaf. ‘You’ll be with the enemy when Arthur gets here.’

‘He will come? You’re sure? Is he really ten feet tall?’

‘He will come,’ said Leaf with a conviction she was far from feeling. ‘He’s … he’s not quite that tall, but he is … um … well, he’s beaten four Trustees already.’

‘I guess you could go get pillowcases from the linen store,’ said Harrison. He was weakening, Leaf could tell. ‘But that won’t help you find a phone. Like I said, you’d have to ask a Denizen …’

‘Yes,’ said Leaf. ‘I have an idea about who to ask. Where is the linen store?’

Harrison didn’t answer; instead, his face twisted up in indecision.

‘Remember, helping me is helping Arthur, and he’s your only chance of ever getting away from here,’ said Leaf. ‘It’s now or never.’

‘I’ll do it … ’ said Harrison. ‘I mean, okay! I’ll do it. Come on – I’ll show you the way to the linen store. It’s at Circle Three, Twenty-five Past.’

‘What about them?’ asked Leaf quietly, pointing to the quiet bodies on the shore.

‘Martine takes them from here,’ said Harrison. ‘She’ll come out when the sun goes down.’

‘Who’s Martine? A Denizen?’

‘No, she’s human too. She’s been here longer than me. Crazy as a loon, though. She only works nights. Not that night here is anything like home. There’s three moons and they’re big … and they change colour.’

‘Maybe she’s worth talking to,’ said Leaf. ‘Where would I find her?’

‘Circle Six, Half-Past,’ muttered Harrison. He started walking back to the door where they’d entered the crater. ‘But she is crazy. Come on!’

Leaf followed him, but not without a glance back at the sleepers.

‘Also, I need a drink. Have you got human food and, drink, and uh, a toilet I can use? And tea?’

‘I get basic food and there are four restroom facilities for us mortals throughout the establishment,’ said Harrison. ‘But I don’t have any tea. The Denizens love the stuff and they keep it for themselves. I don’t have any coffee either, so you’ll have to make do with water.’

‘Oh, I don’t want the tea to drink myself,’ said Leaf. ‘I was thinking about using it to trade with a Denizen. I’ll have to think of something else.’

Just after she spoke, a thought did occur to her and she bent down and picked up a small stone, one of the few that lay around the smooth floor of the crater.

‘By the way, do you know where that Denizen Feorin hangs out?’ Leaf asked.

‘There aren’t many Denizens here,’ said Harrison. ‘Maybe fifty altogether. Most are up on Circle Ten from Ten to Noon to Ten Past. I guess they have rooms there. They supposedly patrol around as well, but I don’t often see them on my rounds – which reminds me, I’ll have to get started again soon. Got to keep everyone turned …’

He sighed and bent his head, and the small spring in his step that had come on when he agreed to help Leaf disappeared, giving way to his usual depressed shuffle. Leaf followed silently, her head full of plans and schemes, most of which she had to admit were totally impractical. She kept coming back to just three basic aims, but was entirely unsure how she might achieve them.

First, find a telephone to the House and call Arthur. Second, find Aunt Mango and get her away from wherever she is. Three, hide out with Mango somewhere until help comes.

Actually, there were four basic aims, Leaf thought, and the fourth was perhaps the most strident in her mind.

Keep away from Lady Friday.

As Harrison had predicted, they met no one on the way to the linen store. This was a chamber almost identical to the room where Leaf had found the Skinless Boy’s pocket. It brought back unpleasant memories and also made her think, because the linen was all branded with the name of the same laundry service that served East Area Hospital.