A Very Unusual Pursuit Read Online Free PDF Page A

account of how fast they move, and how quick they die.’
    Then Alfred found his voice, at long last. ‘Have you a job for us, miss?’ he said gruffly.
    Miss Eames shook her head. ‘I have not, as it happens, though I wish I had. So far I’ve not been fortunate enough to encounter a spirit of the elements in any guise, whether gnome or troll, sylph or brownie. But I am very eager to meet people who have.’ Leaning forward, her pencil poised, Miss Eames inquired, ‘Were you born in London, Mr Bunce?’
    ‘No.’ Alfred shifted uneasily. ‘I were brought here from the country as a little lad, nobbut five years old.’
    ‘I see.’ Miss Eames made a note in her book. ‘And did your father practise the same trade?’
    ‘No. I were ’prenticed. Like Birdie.’
    ‘Afore me he had a boy called Jack, as went to sea, being too growed up for bogling work,’ Birdie revealed. She liked talking to Miss Eames, who listened with such flattering attention. But before Birdie could relate the story of her own first meeting with Alfred, on the banks of the Limehouse canal, Mary suddenly appeared with a tea-tray – and everyone was briefly distracted by tea, plum cake and slices of bread and butter.
    Birdie tried to restrain herself. She took only one piece of cake and two slices of bread, though she did put four heaped spoonfuls of sugar in her tea. The tea was served in beautiful cups with pictures painted on them. The sugar came in a crystal bowl.
    Alfred ate nothing, and barely touched his tea. He looked deeply uncomfortable.
    ‘Begging yer pardon, miss,’ he said, as soon as Miss Eames had refreshed herself with a sip of tea and a bite of cake, ‘but what’s it to you where I come from, or what me father did?’
    Miss Eames carefully set down her teacup. ‘As I said, Mr Bunce, I am a folklorist, with a profound interest in your profession.’ Smiling a little nervously, she clasped her hands together, cleared her throat, and confessed, ‘What I should like to do is write a paper on the topic. I’m sure it would be eagerly read, and very widely discussed. But before attempting such a thing, I should like to accompany you on your next encounter with a nature spirit. Of course I would be there as a witness, and will undertake not to interfere in any way.’
    Birdie’s jaw dropped, exposing a mouthful of chewed bread. Alfred frowned and said cautiously, ‘You want to come on a job, miss?’
    ‘I do, yes.’
    ‘With me and Birdie?’
    ‘Wherever chance may take you.’ As a final encouragement, Miss Eames fixed Alfred with a bright, penetrating look, and in a businesslike manner declared, ‘Naturally I would pay you for the privilege. Let us say . . . half a crown? And a shilling in advance for your trouble.’

5
    LESSONS LEARNED
    Alfred was silent for a moment. Then he said, ‘Three shillings.’
    ‘Done.’ Miss Eames sprang up and went over to a highly polished writing desk. ‘Perhaps you can use the extra sixpence to catch an omnibus home.’
    ‘Do you work for a newspaper, miss?’ Birdie inquired. But her mouth was so full that the question emerged as a thick mumble.
    She had to swallow before repeating herself.
    Miss Eames paused in the act of unlocking a desk drawer. ‘I fear not,’ she answered. ‘Why do you ask?’
    ‘Because you talked o’ writing in a paper.’
    Miss Eames smiled. She had removed a purse from the drawer, and was counting coins into her hand. ‘I may have the privilege of publishing my piece in some learned journal, or reading it before the Victoria Institute,’ she said. ‘But none of the popular periodicals would be interested in my work.’
    ‘I would be.’ Birdie had caught the wistful note in Miss Eames’s voice, and was keen to encourage her. ‘If you write about me and Mr Bunce, mebbe you can read it to us. Once you finish, like.’
    ‘Could you not read it yourself, dear?’ When Birdie shook her head, Miss Eames regarded her with narrowed eyes. ‘That’s a shame.