Free Ondine by Ebony McKenna Page A

his name ye get that funny look on yer face?’
    â€˜I don’t get a funny look.’
    â€˜Yes ye do. Lord Vincent.’
    Ondine kept her expression as stern as possible.
    â€˜I know ye don’t want to listen to me, but it’s the truth. Lord Vincent is
nawt
to be trusted.’
    â€˜I’ve heard enough,’ Ondine said. ‘We have work to do.’
    She spent the rest of the day scrubbing down timber, polishing the good items and fixing what she could, with Shambles directing her. Ma came out to inspect their work, a beaming smile spreading across her satisfied face.
    â€˜I thought I’d have to buy a whole new set, but you’ve done a marvellous job, you two. Right, when you’re finished, come and help us carry out the carpet.’
    Just as her mother had ordered, the family were scrubbing their way through the entire building. It meant tearing up the ancient, smelly carpet andexposing the floorboards. Considering the flooring was old, stained and reeked of beer, the renovations were long overdue. By the end of the day they’d done a lot of work, but the place didn’t look exactly clean. If anything, they’d stirred up such huge amounts of fetid dust they’d created yet more mess. It was only one day; they were sure to make more mess tomorrow.
    Rolling up the carpet had exposed a thick layer of old newspapers. Not the underlay most people had in their homes to create a soft cushion to walk on, contributing to a lovely, homey atmosphere. Like the carpets before them, the newspapers stank of beer and other weird things, so they had to go as well.
    â€˜Load them all into the fireplace. We’ll have a ritual burning and cleansing ceremony tonight. I hope Auntie Col gets here in time – she’ll have some good spells,’ Ma said.
    â€˜Is Auntie Col coming here tonight?’ Shambles asked out loud. ‘Could she turn me back?’
    Ondine froze for a moment. Shambles wanted to be a real man again. Which meant she’d finally get to see what he looked like. In her mind, she’d begungiving him features she found pleasing. But what if the end result fell short? What if he was – gulp – gobsmackingly ugly? In her heart, she knew that was a selfish way of looking at things. Shambles was entitled to his former life. He should be allowed to be himself again no matter what he looked like.
    It’s the personality, not the package that counts.
    Another sad thought popped into her head.
If Shambles becomes human again, there’ll definitely be no more snuggling in bed
.
    She shook the imaginings from her mind in the same way she shook the dust from the old curtains.
    â€˜Becoming human again is a good idea, Shambles. We could do with the extra manpower,’ Ma said.
    Typical Ma.
    â€˜Hey, look at this,’ Marguerite interrupted. She held up a sheet of old newspaper. Because it had been protected from sunlight, the paper had retained its original off-white colour, and the contrasting black text was easy to read. ‘It’s an obituary of the old Duke of Brugel. Must be the current Duke’s father. Oh, and it’s a juicy one too. Listen to this: it says he died withouthaving to answer to charges of embezzlement.’
    â€˜Keep hold of that. It might come in handy,’ Da said.
    â€˜So might this,’ Thomas said, lifting up a section of exposed floorboard. ‘There’s something down here.’
    Working together, Da and Thomas pulled up another two boards. All of them were cut into short lengths, as if designed to come away together.
    In the cobwebby recesses beneath the bar-room floor lay a large metal box. It reminded Ondine of the deposit box in the kitchen, where they put all their money for safe-keeping until the banks opened on Monday. 29 The mysterious box was so heavy they called in Chef to help them lift it out. The men grunted and groaned, pulled it free with an ‘oomph’, then dropped the