Ironheart (3 page)

India wondered if now would be a good time to tell Roshanne about Verity Brown but decided it probably wasn’t. She picked up one of the oil lamps and escaped upstairs. She found her sister
Bella sitting on her bed, scribbling in a dog-eared sketchbook.

‘What are you drawing?’ asked India.

‘Southsiders eating Tonya Solomon.’

‘Southsiders don’t eat people.’

‘They do too! Levi Sloat said they ate his dad.’

‘Levi Sloat’s dad got drunk and fell down his own well.’

Bella thought this over for a moment and then shrugged. You’re in my room,’ she said.

India dutifully took a step backwards and watched her from the doorway. ‘What do you think of Mr Clench?’ she asked casually.

‘He’s OK, I guess,’ said Bella, without looking up from her scribbling. ‘He talks to me sometimes, when I see him out. What’s for dinner?’

‘Sticklebacks,’ said India. ‘It’s all I could get.’

‘Stinky sticklebacks?’ Bella wrinkled her nose. ‘Are you sure about that? It smells like roast chicken to me.’

‘With roast potatoes?’ said India with a smile. They played this game whenever they were hungry. They played it a lot.

‘Yeah, and parsnips and peas and onion gravy.’

‘And apple pie and custard?’

‘Ice cream!’ said Bella blissfully. ‘Let it be ice cream.’

They both fell quiet, lost in thoughts of food.

‘So what does Mr Clench say to you?’ said India after a while.

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Bella, going back to her drawing. ‘He just asks about Dad’s job and stuff.’ She suddenly brightened. ‘He’s got a cat and
it’s going to have kittens. Do you think Roshanne will let me have one when they’re born?’

India shrugged. ‘I shouldn’t think so. What sort of questions does he ask?’

‘I don’t know! Just stuff, that’s all. Mind your own business and get out of my room!’

India retreated to her own spartan-looking room and frowned at the floral dress Roshanne had laid out on the bed. She wiped her filthy hands on it and balled it up under the mattress. Then she
swaggered in front of the mirror with a pencil stuck in the corner of her mouth like a cigar, squinting at her reflection through narrowed eyes. She wondered idly where she might be able to get
hold of a pistol and a leather jacket.

She changed into a fresh work shirt and ran her hands through her thick black hair, pushing it into a set of wild peaks until she was satisfied with the effect. Not wanting to go downstairs, she
picked up a picture from the mantelpiece and sat down on the bed. Tall and blue-eyed, John Bentley stood in the centre of a group of tough-looking men in overalls. He had the same half-smile he
always wore when he sat in India’s room at bedtime.

‘Read me a story,’ she’d say.

‘Which one?’ he’d say, teasing.

‘You know which one.’

‘What,
again
? OK. Which part would you like me to read?’

‘The part when she meets her friends. You know, when they follow the yellow brick road.’

When he was finished she’d pull the sheets closer as he tucked her in.

‘I’d like to have an adventure one day,’ she said. ‘But what would happen if I got trapped in the witch’s castle, like Dorothy?’

‘Then I’d come and rescue you,’ he’d say, smoothing her forehead and kissing her goodnight.

‘And if you got trapped in a witch’s castle I’d come and rescue you too.’

India reached instinctively for the small metal pendant inscribed with her name that hung on a leather cord at her throat. Bella seldom wore hers, but for India the little pendant was the last
thread that linked her to a happier time.

A burst of adult laughter from downstairs startled her and she realized she had been daydreaming. She supposed she should put in an appearance and, as if on cue, there was a familiar shriek from
the hallway.

‘In-di-a! Are you up there? Please come down at once! Mr Clench has arrived.’

The kitchen was thick with cooking steam that smelled of fish. Mr Clench sat with his back to the door, telling a story while Roshanne and Bella sat in rapt attention. There
was an open bottle of home-made wine and a bowl of apples on the table. India looked hungrily at the fruit but thought she would rather starve than eat something Clench had brought with him.

‘So the Great Siberian Wastes are a land of opportunity if you’ve got the grit and the gumption for it. I mean, look at me. I was like all the other nobodies around here until I went
east.’

‘I’d love to see Siberia,’ said Bella, wide-eyed. ‘Will you take me there?’

Clench snorted with laughter. ‘Good grief, it’s no place for girls! It’s full of wild beasts and primitive savages who’d chew on your bones if they got a chance. Did you
know the ice people still believe in magic? They talk to the trees and the mountains, of all things!’ He spotted India and jumped from his seat. ‘India, wonderful to see you
again.’

She ducked to avoid his embrace and moved to the opposite end of the table.

Clench wore explorer’s clothes, heavy trousers tucked into long brown boots, and a multi-pocketed waistcoat over a checked shirt that failed to conceal his soft stomach. The clothes looked
too clean and well pressed to have seen any serious action. He glanced down at India’s shabby work clothes and muddy boots. ‘You look as glamorous as ever, India. What have you been up
to?’

‘Checking up on that wretched well of hers
again
,’ said Roshanne, giving him a lipsticky smile. She had applied a great deal more make-up, which now clung to her face in greasy
clots.

‘Still doing things the old-fashioned way, eh?’ said Clench. ‘I tell you what, I got hold of a cheap barrel of industrial disinfectant the other week from a guy who runs a
dredger over in Wembley. He said it was the strongest stuff you can find. I’ll dump it in the well for you tomorrow and you won’t have to touch it again for a week.’

‘Why, Thaddeus,’ said Roshanne, ‘that’s very sweet of you.’

‘Wait a minute,’ said India, feeling her face flush. ‘I work hard to keep chemicals out of our well. I don’t want him touching it.’

‘Enough now, India,’ said Roshanne, tottering back from the stove. ‘Move out of the way so I can put this saucepan down.’

Clench grinned smugly while Roshanne slopped runny fish soup and gritty spinach into their bowls. India’s stomach tightened into an angry knot.

‘Well, isn’t this lovely!’ said Roshanne, sitting down. ‘I always think there’s nothing nicer than the company of friends and family.’ She gave Clench another
syrupy smile, which made India feel quite queasy. She wished Verity Brown and her android would arrive. ‘And now that we’re all here,’ continued Roshanne, ‘Thaddeus and I
would like to make a little announcement.’

India put down her spoon. She had a bad feeling about any announcement that Roshanne and Clench might have to make together.

‘As you know, Thaddeus and I have become very close over the last few months.’ She smiled at him and dabbed her eyes with a small handkerchief. ‘Thaddeus has been such a
comfort to me in the last year that I have come to think of him almost as a member of our own family.’ India thought she would definitely be sick. ‘And for that reason, we have agreed
that we would all benefit from an alliance.’

India’s senses reached high alert. ‘What sort of alliance?’ she said.

There was an exchange of glances between the two adults.

‘We felt that a joining of our families would be good for all of us. Thaddeus would gain a family and we would have the security and protection of a man – something that we’ve
missed so badly during the last year.’ Roshanne took a deep breath. ‘Thaddeus has confided his feelings to me. He has made an offer of marriage and I have accepted.’ She said it
quickly, as if in a hurry to get it out.

Bella gasped. India groaned inwardly. The thought of Roshanne and Clench together was physically repulsive but the prospect of seeing him every morning at the breakfast table where her father
used to sit was horrible beyond words.

‘Well, what do you think, India?’ said Roshanne.

None of what India was thinking was repeatable. She anticipated the cold poison she could expect from Roshanne if she objected.

‘I think it’s great,’ she said in a flat voice. The lie made her eyes burn.

Her stepmother blinked at her, surprised. ‘You approve?’

‘Yeah, really,’ said India. ‘I hope you’ll both be very happy together.’

Roshanne looked puzzled and shook her head. ‘Oh no, India, you don’t understand. The proposal of marriage was not for me. It was for you. Thaddeus wishes to marry
you
– isn’t that exciting?’

The words felt like a rush of ice through her veins. When she spoke, her voice sounded very small. ‘Me?’

‘Yes dear,’ said Roshanne. ‘It’ll be perfect for all of us.’

‘But I’m not old enough!’

‘Nonsense, you’re only a bit younger than I was when I married for the first time, and look what it did for me.’ She nudged Clench and made a horrible cackling noise. ‘So
what do you think about that then, Bella? Your big sister’s going to get married!’

Bella was confused and looked to India for confirmation. ‘When’s the wedding?’ she said in a whisper.

‘How about two weeks from today?’ said Clench, rising from the table. ‘I don’t go in much for long engagements.’ He started to pursue India slowly around the room
as India tried to keep the table between them. ‘Come on, India, try to look a bit more cheerful about it. I’m still in my prime, you know. Here, feel that.’ He tensed a thin bicep
and invited India to squeeze it.

She stared at it as though it was a snake.

‘Hey, Bella!’ he said, turning to her sister. ‘When you come to live in my house, how would you like to have a pony?’

Bella’s eyes opened wide. ‘Really? Could we? A real pony?’

‘Absolutely! We’ll find you the best little pony in England, a chestnut perhaps, with white socks. Provided your sister agrees to marry me, that is.’

They all turned to look expectantly at India.

‘Stop it, all of you!’ cried India. ‘It’s disgusting. I’m not going to marry him and you can’t make me.’ Her voice cracked and she wiped her cheeks
angrily with her sleeve.

‘Well actually, India, I can,’ said Roshanne, her voice suddenly cold. ‘Now that your father’s dead, I’m your legal guardian. Mr Clench and I have agreed on a
contract and there’s nothing you can do about it.’

‘Missing!’ said India through gritted teeth. ‘He’s missing, not dead.’

Bella looked from India to her stepmother as her bottom lip trembled. Roshanne rolled her eyes.

‘Not this again! How many times, India? He disappeared over a year ago in the middle of Siberia. Face the facts, he’s gone and he’s never coming back. And now it’s time I
had some fun and laughter in my life, India! You’re going to marry Mr Clench and we’re going to live in his beautiful house and that’s all there is to it.’

‘Perhaps,’ said Clench with a nasty grin, ‘you’d prefer it if I did things the old-fashioned way, India?’ With deliberate, comic clumsiness he sank to one knee and
placed both hands over his heart. He cleared his throat, making his Adam’s apple wobble in his skinny neck. ‘India Bentley,’ he began in a dramatic voice. ‘My heart was like
a desert until you came and watered it with your love.’ Roshanne sniggered. ‘Would you do me the honour of consenting to become Mrs India Clench?’ Then he laughed, a long mocking
laugh that filled the room, and Roshanne joined in, cackling at what a splendid joke it all was.

Unable to bear the horror a moment longer, India turned and fled from the kitchen. But she got no further than the kitchen door, where she ran straight into Verity Brown standing in the open
doorway.

‘Hello,’ said Verity. ‘I did knock but nobody heard me.’

The others gawped in shocked silence at the unexpected visitor. Just when Roshanne looked like she had recovered enough to speak, the towering figure of Calculus ducked through the doorframe and
positioned himself next to his mistress.

‘Good grief!’ shrieked Roshanne. ‘What
is
that? Who are you? What are you doing in my house?’

‘Verity Brown,’ said Verity, extending a hand that nobody took. ‘I hope you don’t mind us dropping in like this? India said it would be OK.’ She smiled, displaying
an even set of white teeth.

‘I most certainly do mind,’ said Roshanne. ‘You’re interrupting an important family occasion. And what do you mean, “India said it would be OK”?’ All
eyes turned to India.

‘Mrs Brown works for the Company,’ she explained. ‘She needs our help.’

‘Well, now is not a convenient time to ask for it,’ said Roshanne. ‘India, you’ve no business inviting this woman here with her . . . her –’ she pointed to
the android – ‘
contraption.
’

India smiled, enjoying Roshanne’s discomfort.

‘Don’t mind him, Mrs Bentley,’ said Verity, looking at Calculus. ‘He’s harmless, just a puppy really.’

‘I think he looks kind,’ said Bella, smiling at the android.

‘It’s a bloody robot, is what it is, and I don’t want it leaking oil in my kitchen. Make it go out – go on, shoo, shoo, you ghastly thing.’