‘Oh yes,’ said Harriet. ‘Lovely. You can tell she’s worked–’
‘And she’s ginger? And slight? About five foot and a tiny bit?’
‘Well, I suppose so, but–’
Thea scrambled off the bed and grasped Harriet’s wrist. ‘Take me there,’ she said, pulling at Harriet to get up.
‘What?’ said Harriet, struggling into a sitting position. ‘You’re all outraged and then one mention of forearms and you’re all for paying for it?’
‘No,’ said Thea, pushing her fingers into her hair as she tried to think. Could she be that lucky? She grasped Harriet again and hastened her off the bed. ‘I’ll explain on the way.’
A short time later they sat in the carriage, parked opposite Mother Courage’s House Exclusively For Females.
‘Goodness me,’ said Thea, as a seemingly well-to-do lady stepped out of the door, straightened her skirts, looked from side to side and then disappeared into a smart looking carriage further up the road. Thea put down her cup on the saucer she carried. Joan had run out to the carriage with it just before they set off. She’d made it, she said, so they might as well drink it, but Thea suspected it was a sensible attempt to sober her and Harriet up before they ventured out to a bordello past midnight on New Year’s Eve. She really must ensure Joan got an extra dress this year.
As it turned out, Mother Courage’s was less than a five-minute carriage ride from her house, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She had spent the short journey becoming more and more anxious. What if Frankie refused to see her? What if she had contracted some awful disease from the looser women of London? What if it wasn’t Frankie at all and The Duchess of Hartford was about to storm into a brothel and demand a short, ginger girl with nice forearms? Thea looked at the silhouette of two women at an upstairs window. A third one joined them.
‘Oh my goodness me,’ she said. She took another sip of tea, and it rattled on the saucer as she replaced it. Most of the teawas on the floor of the carriage anyway, as it turned out London cobbles and portable drinks did not mix well.
‘You already said that,’ said Harriet. ‘Are we just going to sit here and exclaim all night? Because you can do that in there and it’s much more pleasant.’ She tipped her head to the terrace.
‘What about splinters?’ asked Thea.
‘What?’ asked Harriet.
‘Splinters,’ said Thea. ‘You said about a wooden thing and I assume it’s not for hanging your cloak on?’
‘Ah.’ Harriet looked thoughtful. ‘Well, no damage yet. It’s pretty smooth. Seen a fair bit of use I would have thought.’
Thea thought the tea might be about to reappear. ‘You share it?’
‘I share a lot of things,’ said Harriet, clearly tiring of the conversation. ‘Are you going to sit here all night or just keep delaying while you find out more things you don’t want to know?’
‘Um,’ said Thea, wondering if sitting there was an option. Did Frankie sleep there, or would she come out to go home? If she even had one now.
‘Come on,’ said Harriet. ‘I know my way around.’
‘Clearly,’ said Thea, following her meekly out of the carriage and instructing Sanders to wait up the street. She adjusted her skirts as she stood on the cobbles in front of an unassuming door. Harriet pushed it open.
‘Do you not knock?’ she asked, surprised.
‘Nobody wants to dally on the street,’ said Harriet as she led her into a high-ceilinged hallway. Thea wasn’t sure what she had expected. Perhaps sawdust on the floor and a rickety bar with girls draped all over it, but this wasn’t that. It was very clean. The decoration was opulent, but tired, like it had once been a grand house. Deep green wallpaper with a little fake gilding, an oak banister with a pointed finial, and a stuffed fox on a side table.A huge grandfather clock leaned slightly in the corner and ticked loudly. Harriet knocked on a door to their left.
‘Sorry deary,’ said a voluminous woman wiping her hands on a muslin as she emerged. ‘I wasn’t expecting anyone else by appointment this… Oh,’ she said, finally looking up. ‘Mrs Henry.’ She smiled so widely that Thea could see all of her teeth. All of them that were left, anyway. Her hair was piled high and the powder on thick. The vermillion on her lips crept off the edges into the cracks around her mouth and she stood with her legs slightly apart, as if she needed the stability. ‘And you brought a friend.’ She looked Thea up and down with an interrogative gaze, no doubt noting Thea’s expensive gown, tall hairpiece, diamond buckled shoes and her emerald necklace. Thea put her hand to it involuntarily.
‘I did,’ said Harriet, seeming unmoved by the situation. ‘Mother Courage, this is my friend, Her Gra–’ She squeaked a little and shut up as Thea poked her in the ribs from behind. ‘Mrs Rogers,’ she said, turning round to scowl at Thea.
The corners of Mother Courage’s mouth ticked upwards as she eyed her new prey with interest. ‘You are most welcome, Mrs Rogers,’ she said, stepping a little further into the hall and pulling the door closed behind her. ‘I assume it is your first time. We are all very discreet and I like to think I have something for everyone. I have a couple already taken up this evening, but I can offer–’
‘No,’ said Thea, cutting her off. ‘Thank you,’ she said, remembering her manners, ‘but I am looking for one in particular.’
‘Ah,’ said Mother Courage. ‘News of my girls does get around.’
‘The one that calls herself Anya,’ said Harriet. ‘The one I’ve been seeing.’
Mother Courage nodded and pointed between them. ‘You want to share? There’s a third off the hour per person if there’s two of–’
‘No,’ said Thea, not wanting that image in her head. ‘I would simply like to talk to her. By myself.’
