Lizzie and I sat opposite each other, legs crossed, knees just touching. I raised both hands to begin a clapping game, but Lizzie paused at the sight of my funny fingers. They were puckered and pink.

“They don’t hurt anymore,” I said.

“You sure?”

I nodded, and we began to clap, though she was too soft with my funny fingers to make the right sound.

“So, what’s your big secret, Essymay?” she asked.

I’d almost forgotten. I stopped clapping, reached into the pocket of my pinny and pulled out the slip that had landed in my lap earlier that morning.

“What kind of secret is that?” asked Lizzie, taking the slip in her hand and turning it over.

“It’s a word, but I can only read this bit.” I pointed to bondmaid. “Can you read the rest for me?”

She moved a finger across the words, just as I had done. After a while, she handed it back.

“Where did you find it?” she asked.

“It found me,” I said. And when I saw that wasn’t enough, “One of the assistants threw it away.”

“Threw it away, did they?”

“Yes,” I said, without looking down, even a little bit. “Some words just don’t make sense and they throw them away.”

“Well, what will you do with your secret?” Lizzie asked.

I hadn’t thought. All I’d wanted was to show it to Lizzie. I knew not to ask Da to keep it safe, and it couldn’t stay in my pinny forever.

“Can you keep it for me?” I asked.

“I s’pose I can, if you want me to. Though I don’t know what’s so special about it.”

It was special because it had come to me. It was almost nothing, but not quite. It was small and fragile and it might not mean anything important, but I needed to keep it from the fire grate. I didn’t know how to say any of this to Lizzie, and she didn’t insist. Instead, she got to her hands and knees, reached under her bed and pulled out a small wooden trunk.

I watched as she drew a finger through the thin film of dust that covered the scarred top. She wasn’t in a hurry to open it.

“What’s inside?” I asked.

“Nothing. Everything I came with has gone into that wardrobe.”

“Won’t you need it to go on journeys?”

“I won’t be needing it,” she said, and released the latch.

I placed my secret in the bottom of the trunk and sat back on my haunches. It looked small and lonely. I moved it to one side, and then to the other. Finally, I retrieved it and cradled it in both hands.

Lizzie stroked my hair. “You’ll have to find more treasures to keep it company.”