Teena: A House of Ill Repute by Jennifer Jane Pope

and settled upon a pair of red leather shoes with pointed toes and surprisingly high heels reminiscent of the Louis Quinz period in France.
    'Made those back about five years ago now,' said the shoemaker, whose name according to the sign outside was Milton Faraday. 'They were supposed to be for George Middlemiss's young French bride, but the poor lass took with the fever and died. Great shame that was, her being barely twenty years old, but then these things happen all too often.'
    I paid for the red shoes, and also for a black pair with much less formidable heels and a pair of doeskin ankle boots, the latter being for myself, Angelina being light in the footwear department.
    'I can offer a nice line in proper stout outdoor boots, too,' Faraday assured me. 'If you're thinking of doing much walking around these parts at this time of the year, then you'll be needing something with a bit of wear in them.' I opened my mouth to assure him I didn't intend to do any walking, not in these nor in any other parts, but then I stopped myself and considered again.
    'That's very kind,' I replied. 'Perhaps you have something you could show me.'
    Of course, he did, and I left with two pairs of very functional looking ladies' boots, the one pair slightly larger, for I had noticed Indira's feet were at least a full size bigger than Angelina's and that Andrea had only just been able to force her feet into the shoes in which she had escaped.
    'So now what?' Andrea asked as I finished buttoning her into the least awful of the new dresses.
    'Well, I haven't eaten yet this morning and neither have you,' I reminded her, 'so I reckon we should go down and organise some food, and then maybe we could take a little walk.'
    'You've come up with a plan, then? She twirled around once, and then wrinkled her nose in disgust. 'Bloody awful taste, these country peasants,' she muttered.
    'No, not really,' I replied in answer to her question, 'but I thought about what you said last night and we certainly can't just keep on running. So we'll need to find somewhere to stop, and Arundel could be as good a place as any. If we ask around, we may find a house or cottage that's up for sale or for rent.'
    We didn't have to ask far, for a brief mention to the landlord downstairs elicited the information that there were two or three potential properties, and all within a mile of the town centre.
    'Up Mill Road there's a cottage for rent,' he informed us. 'Belongs to the Tamworth family and was lived in by the old aunt up until just before Christmas, when she passed on, rest her soul. Mind you, she was nearly ninety, so she couldn't complain. Then there's Banks Cottage, over yonder on the far side of the river. Used to be part of the Beasley estate, but that's been split up since the old man died and the two sons are happier living up in the city. I don't think that's been sold yet, but you could check with their lawyer, Bartlett. His office is just up the High Street. He'll also be acting for John Goring, selling off the old mill house. It's not been used these past ten years or more and John's moved down to Brighton now. Place'll probably need some attention, but it's sound enough in construction and it ain't about to fall down.' He looked around at the three of us. 'Thinking of settling then, are you?' he asked.
    I smiled my sweetest smile at him. 'My doctor suggested I should find somewhere with pleasant country air,' I replied. I patted the top of my chest. 'I've been unwell, you see, and the air in London these days... well, I'm sure you know what I mean.'
    'Indeed I do, mistress,' he replied. 'Only been there a couple of times meself, mind, but that was more'n enough. Dirty, smelly place London. Don't see why people carry on living there. Wouldn't surprise me if they didn't have another outbreak of the plague there, and that's a fact.'
     
    I suppose I had a picture of a quaint little cottage leaning against a larger and possibly now derelict mill building before we