Maddie blinked as she chewed on her lip. Her parents, or at least the people she had believed were her parents, had brought her up to be honest, and this was taking some swallowing.

‘Don’t go getting all holier than thou on me,’ Maddie warned as she watched Ruby’s reaction. ‘And just remember that in the eyes of the law you would be considered to be just as guilty as me if we were to get caught. All I asked you to do was swoon. It isn’t as if I’m sending you out begging on the streets, is it? And surely that’s nothing in return for a warm home to live in and plenty to eat.’

Until that moment Ruby had placed Maddie on a pedestal but now all her ideals crumbled and she had to blink back tears. Suddenly she understood why Maddie had bought her clothes that made her look much younger than she was. It was so people would look on her as a child when they were out together, and who would ever believe that such a well-dressed woman and child could be capable of such dishonesty? She bowed her head as she wondered what her mum would have thought of her stealing. They had never been rich but her mother had always been as honest as the day was long and she would have been so ashamed of her now.

‘Do Nell and Mrs Petty know about this?’ she asked in a strangled voice and Maddie laughed again as she tucked the precious jewel safely away.

‘Why, of course they do. Nell was my accomplice till a short while ago but she got too big and while Petty doesn’t approve of what I do she knows which side her bread is buttered so she chooses to turn a blind eye. But now I must ask you, are you prepared to help me when necessary in return for being well looked after?’

Ruby hesitated, knowing that if she didn’t agree she would find herself back out on the streets. The thought of being homeless was terrifying, especially in such inclement weather, and returning to her father was completely out of the question. She would die rather than risk letting him touch her again, so what choice did she have? And yet what Maddie was asking was going against everything she had ever been taught. She stared down at her little black boots and the folds of her soft velvet dress peeping from the opening of her coat, and slowly she nodded. There was really no alternative.

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Later that evening, after Ruby had retired to the drawing room to read her book, she heard raised voices coming from the kitchen, so creeping to the door she cautiously opened it a crack to listen. She knew that eavesdropping was wrong but after what had happened that day, she was beyond caring.