Free Cat Among the Pigeons by Julia Golding Page A

behind him. ‘I was just telling his lordship about the messenger.’
    â€˜It’s only that I thought I saw the little urchin giving you cheek down in the quad.’
    â€˜No, no, he’s been very respectful. We were having a joke, that’s all.’
    â€˜Well, in that case, I’ll get on with my work.’
    â€˜Yes, yes, you do that. Very good, very good.’
    Charles backed the porter out of the door and shut it behind him with a sigh of relief.
    â€˜What’s going on, Charlie?’ asked Frank, still not fully awake. He yawned, stretched and scratched the back of his head. ‘What’s the messenger here for?’
    Charles waited until the footsteps had died away. ‘You’d better ask yourself. I must say I’m also rather intrigued to know the answer.’
    Frank took his first proper look at me and swore. ‘Damn and blast, Cat, what are you doing here?’ He grabbed a dressing gown and hastily wrapped himself up in it.
    â€˜I was rather hoping you’d let me warm up and have some breakfast,’ I replied with a longing look at the fire. ‘I’ve just spent the night on the tiles.’
    â€˜Good lord, Cat, you look frozen.’ He grabbed my hands, now noticing that they were blue with cold, and rubbed them briskly in his palms, all trace of sleepiness vanished. ‘Charlie,get the blanket off my bed.’
    Bundled up by the fire, warming up at last, I began to tell them the tale of my escape across the rooftops.
    â€˜Miss Royal, you are certainly a most extraordinary young lady!’ exclaimed Charles when I’d finished.
    â€˜You’d better drop the Miss Royal, sir,’ I said. ‘I’m a boy for the moment.’
    â€˜In that case, you’d better call me Charlie. Can’t have you calling me “sir” the whole time.’
    â€˜But what are we going to do about you, Cat?’ said Frank, striding up and down the hearthrug. ‘You can’t stay here, you know.’
    I nodded. I had known that I couldn’t hide out at Westminster School for long but the thought of wandering the streets again was terrifying.
    â€˜We’ve got lessons this morning,’ continued Frank. ‘Dame Clough, our house matron, will be coming in and out to clean. And Charlie’s brother is expected any moment.’
    â€˜No need to worry about Tom. I’ve had wordthat he won’t be here till after Christmas now. Still not got over his bout of measles,’ said Charlie. He then turned to look at me, the flicker of an idea dawning in his eyes. ‘No, it wouldn’t work. I’m being foolish . . .’
    Frank caught the tail end of the scheme before it was completely abandoned by Charlie. ‘I don’t know.’ He put the cap back on my head, inspecting me closely. ‘If she’s put in the College Dormitory we’d be stuffed, but we could say your mother wants him to sleep in the same house as you because of his delicate health. He could have your room – we could share mine. No one’s met him yet, I assume?’
    â€˜No. Tom’s been with a tutor in Dublin for the past two years.’
    â€˜Well, it’s possible we’d get away with it then.’
    I looked from one to the other, hardly believing they were suggesting what I thought they were suggesting.
    â€˜She – he’d have to arrive properly – in a carriage and with luggage and so on,’ said Charlie.
    â€˜I can fix that,’ said Frank.
    â€˜You’re both mad,’ I said. ‘I’d be found out in one second flat.’
    They grinned at each other.
    â€˜Oh, I don’t know. You underestimate your acting powers, Cat,’ said Frank. ‘I’ve seen you with Syd and the boys. It’d be fun to try, wouldn’t it?’
    â€˜But . . .’
    â€˜And I can’t turn you out, can I? Where would you go? You know better than me what can happen to girls on