Camille by Tess Oliver

from
tasting the fruit on the stands.”
    He shrugged. “Having the money to buy things
is really just a formality.” Something up ahead caught his
attention. A young shoe-black was crouched behind his box pressed
against the wall of a building staring up at a tall, well-dressed
man whose boot he’d apparently just shined.
    The man lifted his foot and stuck it in the
lad’s face. “I’ll not give you anything. My dog could do a better
job cleaning my boots with his tongue,” the man snarled.
    Strider stopped suddenly, and the man backed
up into him. He turned around and shoved Strider. “Out of my
way!”
    I stepped back, my heart racing as I waited
for Strider’s reaction. His body stiffened, but he kept his tightly
clenched fists down to his side. “Sorry, mate,” he said through
clenched teeth.
    The man squinted at Strider’s face before
finally having the good sense to turn and leave, but not without
nearly falling headlong over the shoe-black’s box in his urgency to
depart. I moved closer to Strider. Heat radiated off of him.
    I placed a hand on his arm. It pulsed with
power. “Strider,” I whispered. “Nathaniel.”
    His breathing slowed and his gaze softened as
his eyes met mine. He leaned forward and handed the boy a
sovereign. The shoe-black’s eyes widened as he peered at the
treasure on his palm. Strider reached down and patted the boy’s
cap.
    We resumed our walk. “How did you--”
    “I didn’t survive this long on the streets by
only stealing from dead people. Besides, that bloke deserved to be
separated from his sovereign. The way I look at it, he’s lucky
that’s all I took from him.”
    His last words sent a shiver through me.

     
     

Chapter 11
     
    Strider’s long legs gave him a distinct
advantage as we walked. I was near to skipping in order to keep up.
He seemed to sense my struggle and slowed his pace. “That’s a bonny
dress you’re wearing.”
    This morning I tried in vain to convince
myself that my only reason for choosing a dress was because the day
looked to be quite sunny, and I did not need the warmth of
trousers. But I knew it was a lie. “I did not wear it because of
anything you said,” I insisted. “It was too warm for trousers
today.”
    The morning sky was clear, but a chill clung
to the air. Strider pulled his coat shut against the cold. “Aye,
it’s warm indeed.”
    “It is early still.”
    We passed two young women walking arm and
arm, dressed smartly in jewel toned velvet and cashmere shawls. One
of the lady’s parasols dropped just as we passed. Strider rushed to
her, picked it up, and returned it to the owner with a smile and a
bow. The blush on the lady’s cheeks convinced me that she had
dropped it on purpose. They giggled behind gloved hands as they
continued on their way.
    “Dr. Bennett seems like a respectable sort.
But it’s odd that he lets you travel the streets alone so
much.”
    “He trusts me.”
    “But what about all the untrustworthy people
in the streets? If I had not been at Tussaud’s yesterday…”
    “I’ve never had trouble like that before.
Besides, I never would have gone there if I hadn’t been looking for
you.”
    His face dropped down, and we walked in
silence for a few moments. “Your lifestyle is quite different than
most girls at your station and age. That you must admit.”
    “I admit nothing. Dr. Bennett has been an
excellent guardian. And if growing up reading science books and
professional papers rather than sipping lemonade and poking a
needle through fabric is abnormal, then I’m happy to be so.” I
stopped him and pointed across the street. We waited for a cab and
an omnibus to rush past and walked on. “And you, Nathaniel Strider,
you are not exactly a candidate for conformity.”
    We stopped and faced each other. “Yes, but my
situation is quite different than yours, and I am a man.”
    “I can handle myself just as well as any
man?”
    He stared at my face without saying anything.
A side of his