Little Sparrow

Chapter Ten

I struggled to sleep that night.

With a silence that felt suffocating and the fear of being in a new place with new people overwhelming, I spent the night staring up at the canopy above the bed. I could hear the sound of the floorboards when they moved and settled during the night and what sounded like people moving in the other rooms. After spending most of my life in a room with others, the lack of breathing from beds nearby or the creak of springs made it impossible to sleep.

After lying there for what felt like hours, although it could have only been half an hour, I kicked the blanket off my body and swung my legs over the side of the mattress. I pushed myself off the bed and walked the short distance from the bed to the window. Outside, the streets were dark except for the occasional flicker of light from the lamps, there were still people walking around despite the early morning but most of them appeared to be stumbling rather than walking.

"Righ', you lot, on your way!" a police officer called.

"Come and join us for a drink," one of the men slurred.

"I don' think so, come on, keep moving."

I watched their shadows more across the street, three men stumbled ahead with the police officer close behind them, truncheon in hand. Sometimes, we could hear the drunkards from the dormitory window. The loud laugher, the slurring and occasionally the fistfights that would end in the blow of a whistle and the arrival of police officers to arrest the men. We got used to it after a while, but sometimes it would wake us all up with a loud bang and send us scuttling to the window to try and see what was going on.

Smoke started to trail up from some of the factories as the early morning shifts started. I could see the trails in the rising sunlight and hear the sounds of those emerging from their beds and heading to work. London never stopped. There would be people around during the day and then they had all gone home, the drunks would come out and the cycle would start all over again come morning. I always wondered what it would be like to live in the country, to wake to bird song rather than drunks.

In the distance, I could see the lamplights coming out to extinguish the flames. They carried ladders over their shoulders and some whistled jolly tunes to themselves when they walked. I watched one of them approach the lamp outside the Atkinson's house, lean the ladder against the pole and shuffle up to the flame inside. Although I could not make out what he did, within seconds the lamp went out and he plunged the street into darkness.

With London starting to wake the winter sun starting to appear over the buildings, I walked back to the bed and sat on the edge of it, picking at my nightdress. From the cuff, I pulled out a loose thread and listened to the sound of the house coming alive. It did not seem like the Atkinson's had any staff, especially since William appeared to make the cakes and Mrs Atkinson had poured the tea herself the previous evening. The noises of footsteps walking around downstairs told me they did employ staff.

I do not know how long I sat on that bed for, staring into the room that slowly lit up thanks to the sun. When I heard the low hum of voices in the hallway outside, I changed back into my dress, smoothing out the skirt and wondering why to put my nightdress. They had not given me any instructions. Instead, I draped it over the back of the chair at the table and ran my fingers through my hair to try and smooth it out.

A soft knock at the door caught my attention and I fought with my hair a little while longer before walking to the door and swinging it open. William stood in the doorway, his hair still a little dishevelled from sleep and his clothing appearing rather wrinkled, though I did not say anything.

"Mother told me to come and get you for breakfast," he said, smiling. I did not know what he knew about me, if he knew anything, but he appeared to be trying to impress me.