Free Beyond the Sunset by Anna Jacobs

hungry, I’d have increased what I gave her, but she didn’t, not once. I asked her if she was satisfied and she said yes. You can check that with her. So I’ve saved money for the owners already and would have saved more if you hadn’t appointed Miss Blair to live over the shop. There really was no need for that. I’d been keeping an eye on Dot, making sure she did her work properly.’
    He waited, but they said nothing.
    He pushed it a bit further, getting in a shot at the governess, whom he was determined to get rid of. ‘I’m disappointed to see that Miss Blair isn’t loyal to those who’re keeping her, very disappointed. Only this morning she went shopping at the market instead of with us and when I suggested she confine certain purchases to the shop, she refused even to consider it.’
    Mr Dawson drew himself up. ‘What Miss Blair does with her money is none of your concern, Prebble. Am I not right, Mr Featherworth?’
    ‘You are indeed. A lady like her can be trusted to make her own choices and decisions.’
    Lady! thought Harry. She wasn’t what he called a lady, just a scraggy old spinster, the sort that poked her nose in where it wasn’t wanted. He realised Dawson was still speaking and began to wonder if he was the one who really ran this business, not old Featherworth. How could that be? Dawson dressed neatly but modestly and deferred to his employer all the time. But two or three times today the lawyer had looked at his clerk as if for guidance.
    ‘If what you claim is correct, can you show me the real accounts?’ Dawson asked sharply.
    ‘Yes, of course.’
    ‘I’ll come back with you now and check them. If you agree, of course, Mr Featherworth?’
    The lawyer nodded, frowned at Harry then turned back to his clerk, his expression softening as if he was speaking to a friend. They all stuck together, those who hadn’t had to struggle for a living. Stuck-up snobs! Harry enjoyed scoring off them. That was why he’d taken the money at first, to show them he could manage things better than they could. And if they’d not found out about it, he’d have kept it. He had a few little sidelines bringing him in extra money. These two old men would have a fit if they knew half of what he got up to.
    He’d find another way to prove to the new owners how capable he was, though, so that they thought well of him. If he got what he wanted out of all this, he’d not keep Featherworth as his lawyer.
    ‘I’ll leave you to deal with this matter, then, Dawson.’
    That old man is soft, doesn’t like unpleasantness, Harry thought as he walked back to the shop with Mr Dawson. This one is the fellow to watch.
    He tried to chat but stopped when the clerk showed no signs of responding with more than the occasional nod or shrug.
    In the small office just off the packing room at the rear of the shop – a place where he loved to sit and contemplate his new kingdom – Harry took the special account book down from the top shelf and passed it to Mr Dawson with a flourish.
    Pity to lose this money. He’d had a savings bank account for a while now and had been looking forward to increasing the amount in it. He’d find other ways of rewarding himself for his hard work, though, now that he’d seen how easy it was to fool people.
    Well, he always had taken the odd packet of this and that, and no one had ever noticed. He sold them to his family cheaply, and they knew how to keep their mouths shut. Let alone Prebbles always stuck together, they got good food more cheaply from him. He wasn’t greedy, only took the odd packet, but it all mounted up, as his savings book showed. He loved looking at the total.
    When the clerk had finished studying the books, Harry got down the small cash box and held it out. ‘You’ll find the money I saved there. I was going to give it to the new owners to show how well I’d done as manager. I’m finding as many ways to improve the shop’s profits as I can and—’
    ‘We don’t require