I sat up and received a sharp reminder that the knife was still under my thigh. "What do you want?" I snapped.

"Breakfast will arrive shortly." He moved away and sat at his desk. The man liked to work.

I tucked the knife up my sleeve and headed into the bedroom. With one eye on the closed door, I slipped the knife under the truckle bed's mattress, then I quickly washed and changed into the clean shirt. With my hair once more covering my face, I returned to the sitting room.

"Good morning, lad," Seth said cheerfully from the small table where he was setting down a tray. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough."

Gus moved past me into the bedroom and re-emerged a few minutes later with the bowls of washing water. "When are we going to get proper maids, sir?"

Fitzroy didn't look up from his paperwork. "When we find some that won't tattle."

"Girls who don't tattle?" Gus grunted. "Ain't no such creature."

Seth patted the chair near the table. "Sit down and eat, Charlie."

I sat and noticed that Fitzroy had his own tray laden with bacon, sausages and eggs. "I can't eat all this," I said.

"Try. You need fattening up." Seth ruffled my hair as he passed and I slapped his hand away. He chuckled and I found I couldn't be mad at him. He wasn't a bad sort, despite his participation in my kidnapping. He was only following orders.

Gus handed me a steaming cup of tea and bent his head close to mine. "Does he snore?" he whispered.

Despite everything, I laughed. "Like a trumpet," I whispered back, keeping Fitzroy in my line of sight.

Gus grinned, revealing a patchwork of broken and crooked teeth. "I knew there had to be something human about him."

"Or maybe his gears get jammed when he lies down."

Gus roared with laughter. Fitzroy glanced over his shoulder, catching us both watching him. Gus choked on his laugh and turned it into a cough.

"Eat, Half Pint," he commanded. "Growing boy like you should eat every crumb."

Seth emerged from the bedroom carrying jugs and bowls. He mouthed, "What's so amusing?" at Gus, but Gus merely shrugged.

"You know what you must do," Fitzroy told them.

"Yes, sir," Seth said. "We'll head out now."

Fitzroy locked the door after they left then settled back at his desk. He read the newspaper flattened out before him and absently ate his breakfast. I ate all of the bacon on my plate. It was one of the foods I'd missed in the last five years, and I savored every bite. I didn't touch the rest. The bacon had filled me up.

"You do not eat," Fitzroy said, some time later when he approached.

"I'm not hungry."

"If you don't eat, you won't grow."

"Perhaps I like being short and thin."

"No boy likes being short and thin."

I watched him for signs that he suspected, but he was already turning away from me. He paced the room, covering the entire length quickly with his long strides. He seemed agitated or frustrated.