Julius and the Soulcatcher (22 page)

‘I like to have things that no one else does,' said Lord Bloomingbury. ‘I find it most invigorating. I'm always on the lookout for unique and extraordinary specimens. Which leads me to my next—'

‘Per'aps I could borrow it?' said Emily. ‘Or 'ave one of its eggs?' She had the dodo cornered and was trying to imitate the noises it made. ‘I'll bring it back when I'm finished wiv it, honest.'

Julius looked at Clara. She appeared to be about to faint from mortification. ‘Yes, well. Thank you, Emily, dear,' she said. ‘I really think you ought to be getting home.'

Julius tried to give Emily a reproachful look but she did not see it. She had calmed the dodo and was cuddling it like a long lost favourite pet.

‘Come on, Emily,' said Clara. ‘Time to go home.' She took Emily's arm and quickly curtsied to Lord Bloomingbury. ‘Thank you, sir,' she said. ‘I'll see to the children. Thank you, ever so much.'

‘Just a moment,' said Lord Bloomingbury. He tilted a book on a shelf and the whole bookshelf opened a few inches, like a door. The meaty odour Julius had noticed before wafted through the crack.

Clara coughed. Julius's eyes begin to water.

‘You haven't seen anything yet,' said Lord Bloomingbury.

‘Wot is it?' said Emily, gleefully.

Clara placed her handkerchief over her mouth and coughed again. She pulled on Emily's arm and led her back to the door they had come in through.

‘But you really must see—' said Lord Bloomingbury.

‘Thank you, sir,' cut in Clara. She spluttered into
her handkerchief. ‘Come on children. Home with you.'

‘'ang on,' said Emily, as she was being pulled to the door.

‘Good evening, sir,' said Julius. He opened the door for Clara who bustled Emily out.

‘But you will miss the—'

‘Thank you, Your Lordship,' said Clara. Cutting him off before he could say anything else to excite Emily. ‘Thank you.'

Lord Bloomingbury stood at the bookshelf with a quizzical expression on his face. He was just about to say something when Julius quickly bowed and closed the door.

Clara coughed again but it quickly turned into the laughter of relief.

‘Emily, you'll get me sacked before I even start,' she said. She gave Emily a playful push through the library door. ‘I don't think anyone's ever spoken to His Lordship the way you did. I could have died.'

‘'e didn't mind,' said Emily. ‘'e was a nice old geeza.'

Out in the corridor the thylacine pups leapt around them, yipping and flicking their tails.

Clara tried to shoo them away. ‘When you asked to borrow his dodo…I…I…' Clara burst into laughter again. ‘Quick,' she said. ‘Before he comes out.'

She took Julius and Emily by the hand and they ran along the corridor, with the thylacines bounding after them.

Through the hectic kitchen, they ran, and out the door. At the top of the steps they stood under the gas light, their laughter dying away. Emily sniffed at the cold.

‘You've got your cab fare?' said Clara.

Julius nodded and jangled the coins in his pocket.

‘Best go to Penton Place, there's a cab row there,' she said.

Julius hunched up his shoulders against the cold. Clara reached out and touched his arm as if to warm him.

‘I'll bring some pictures of castles for you,' he said. ‘When I come again.'

Clara looked happy and sad all at once. ‘Safe home, now,' she mouthed when her voice failed her.

‘And I'll speak to grandfather,' said Julius. ‘I'll ask him to invite you to tea.'

‘Oh, no,' said Clara. She held up her hands. ‘No. It's better if—'

‘I'll speak to him,' said Julius. ‘It will be all right.'

Julius turned to Emily. ‘I can see you back to the academy,' he said.

Emily shrugged. ‘If you want. I ain't bothered.'

Julius felt the sting of the missing ‘'iggins' in her reply.

‘Come on,' he said.

They walked across the stable yard and made their way across the parkland, towards the lights of
Penton Place. The air was still and the frozen mist burrowed into their bones. To Julius's surprise, Emily tucked her arm under his. He felt her lean into him as they walked in step.

‘I saw Skinner,' he said. ‘He's a patient in Bedlam. The soulcatchers are growing out of him. Darwin's working on a cure.'

‘Ace,' said Emily. ‘I told you we did it right.'

‘Looks like it,' said Julius. ‘Thanks for not telling Mr Flynn about, you know, the pocketwatch and the time-jump. ‘I
am
going to tell him. I just need the right moment.'

Emily did not reply.

‘I'm sorry for what I said,' he said.

He felt Emily's arm sliding out of his. It was as if his coat had suddenly disappeared. Coldness enveloped him.

Fine, be like that. See if I care.

‘Did you hear me?' he asked, when it became clear that she was not going to respond.

‘Come on. Let's run or the cold'll do for us.'

He followed her over the grass. The short cut to Penton Place took them past the Surrey Zoological Gardens. The spikes at the top of the fence could just be made out against the night sky. At the New Street gate Emily stopped. In the darkness she was an airy mixture of sounds and glimpsed movements.

‘You missed seeing the Animal 'ouse. It was ace,'
she said. ‘Not as good as 'is Lordship's, though.'

Julius followed her to the large wrought-iron gates. They put their faces through the bars.

‘I'll 'ave all sorts of animals when 'ave my own gaff,' said Emily.

Julius wished she would call him 'iggins again.

‘Look. Over there,' said Emily.

‘I think that's the Orchid House. Someone's inside,' said Julius.

It appeared to be someone pushing a wheelbarrow piled high with birdcages.

‘Bit late for gardening,' said Emily.

‘Not Tock's kind of gardening,' said Julius.

CHAPTER 19

Sunday 21st January 1838

8:12 PM

Julius peered through the gate at the Orchid House. ‘Did you see the cages, Emily?' he said. ‘Tock keeps soulcatchers and rats in cages just like them.'

Emily rattled the gate. ‘It's locked,' she said.

‘We'll go and get Mr Flynn,' said Julius.

Emily snorted derisively. ‘No we bleeding won't,' she said. ‘Locks is always pickable. I don't know why people bother making 'em.'

Julius heard her rummage through her purse. ‘It's in 'ere somewhere,' she said to herself.

‘What are you doing?'

‘'ere, you 'old the light while I pick,' she said, handing him a box of Lucifers. ‘The more we see, the more we can tell Mr Flynn when we fetch 'im.' She
ran her hand along the wrought iron, feeling for the lock.

‘Strike a light,' she said. ‘I've got it.'

Julius lit a Lucifer while Emily rummaged through her purse again. She took out a two slim lengths of steel, like large pins with kinks at one end.

‘You're in charge now then, are you?' said Julius.

Emily cast him a quick grin then inserted one of the pins. She jiggled it around to get a feel for tumblers inside the lock. Then she inserted the other pin at the bottom of the slot, and, six Lucifers later, the gate was open.

Julius and Emily moved silently through the gardens, guessing their progress by degrees of darkness. A large black block was a teahouse. Amorphous shapes were bushes. The grey lines before them were the pathways. Julius knew they had reached the domed Animal House from the growls and cries inside, as well as from the smell.

When they came to the Orchid House they hid themselves in the ivy growing up one corner of the building. Julius tried to see through the condensation dripping down the windows.

‘I can't see naffing,' whispered Emily.

Julius edged along the front. Splinters of light escaped through the foliage inside, giving nothing away.

‘Can you 'ear anyfing?' whispered Emily.

Julius shook his head. They crept towards the door where the closed sign still hung. Emily turned the handle but it did not give. She began to rummage through her purse again and took out her lock picks.

‘Let's look round the back first,' Julius whispered. ‘We might be able to see inside from there.'

Emily frowned. Julius turned away before she could object and made his way through the tangled ivy. At the next corner, he peeped around. More light spilled out through the glass at the back. It shone on an empty wheelbarrow.

Emily edged past him to see for herself. Muffled sounds came from inside, as if someone was throwing something around. Julius looked through the window and found a gap in the foliage. A brown-coated figure moved past. ‘It's Baines,' he whispered. ‘We've found them.'

‘Ace,' whispered Emily.

‘I can't see what he's doing,' whispered Julius.

‘We might be able to see from up there.' Emily pointed to a ladder going up the side of the glass house. Ivy covered most of it. ‘It probably leads to the roof. We can look down on 'em from there.' She already had her foot on the first rung. A loud noise inside the Orchid House made Julius turn back to the window. Baines was lifting a large steel trapdoor and throwing a birdcage down a hole.

He spun around to tell Emily and bumped into
something large. It smelled of dried sweat and bad breath.

Julius looked up. Edward Rapple leered down at him. His left cheekbone and eye were still swollen and bruised from the punch Mr Flynn had given him on the Bermondsey wasteground.

‘Want to have a closer look?' he said.

‘I…I…' stammered Julius.

Rapple stopped smiling. He grabbed Julius and dragged him to the back door of the glass house and opened it.

‘Mr Baines,' said Rapple. ‘We have a visitor.'

He picked Julius up by his lapels and pushed him backwards through the open door. Julius fell landed on his back. He looked up at the glass ceiling. Emily's face was looking down through a windowpane. He shook his head.

Don't come down, Emily.

Blue, white and yellow orchids surrounded him, entwining themselves around the wrought-iron posts holding up the glasshouse. The air was hot and moist, like in Brazil, but it stank with a rank odour that made Julius's eyes water.

Baines kicked him in his side, knocking the wind out of him. Julius rolled over and curled up into a ball. ‘Where's Flynn hiding?' said Baines.

Julius did not have any breath to speak.

‘There's no one else out there,' said Rapple.

‘How do you know?' said Baines.

‘I have eyes and ears, don't I?' said Rapple. ‘It's as quiet as a dead fiddler out there.'

Julius clutched his stomach. Rapple and Baines leaned over him forming an ugly, rotten-toothed canopy.

‘What's he up to?' said Baines to himself. He reached down and hauled Julius up to within an inch of his face. One of his eyes was still purple and swollen from when Mr Flynn had punched him too.

‘What are you doing here?' he said. ‘Who are you working for?'

Julius fought to breathe.

‘I think the lad's shy, Mr Baines,' said Rapple.

‘I think you're right, Mr Rapple,' said Baines. ‘He's a touch on the delicate side.'

Julius gulped in some air at last but then retched at the smell of Baines's foul breath.

Baines chuckled. ‘I wonder what Mr Tock will say, Mr Rapple?' he said.

‘I wouldn't like to be in your skin when Tock finds out you've been spying again,' said Rapple.

‘Still,' said Baines. ‘You won't be keeping your skin for long.'

He threw Julius into a pile of empty birdcages.

‘Careful, lad,' said Rapple. ‘You'll pay for any breakages.'

Julius lay among the birdcages. He glanced up.
Emily's face was gone. He looked at the door. Perhaps he could make a run for it?

But before he could move Baines hauled him out from among the birdcages and towards the open trap door and pushed him down a spiral staircase.

Baines laughed. ‘Down to Hades, we go.' With a firm grip on the back of Julius's neck, Baines pushed him further down the stairs. The sulphurous stench grew stronger with each step. Julius tried to get some air into his lungs and arrange his thoughts in his head. Soon, he saw light below. The spiralling stairs led down to an underground sewer.

Baines threw Julius down the last few steps. Julius managed to stop himself from falling into the river of putrid water. His eyes and nose strung from the stench.

‘Mr Tock, sir,' said Baines. ‘We found the boy lurking outside. It's the one from the bookshop.'

Tock was sitting on a stool on the bank of the sewer with a child's fishing net in his hand. They were in some sort of maintenance area. There were wide banks on each side of the sewer and three tunnels leading off. Oil lamps hung from nails on the brick walls, giving everything a sepia tint.