A Gift for Charity
Chapter 9- Dominique
August 16, 1887I watched as the carriage drove through the streets of Paris. I prayed that my father was with my sister in the prison, and not in another prison. If they were together, then it would make things a whole lot easier for me.
Gabriella was seated beside me in the carriage, and her uncle Henri was across from us. He was staring out the window thoughtfully. I wondered what he was thinking. I thought that maybe he was thinking about Charity and my father, the same way I was.
Gabriella was looking at her uncle. Or at least, she seemed to be looking at him. Perhaps she was just thinking and didn't realize that she was staring. She blinked several times and refocused her eyes at the carriage wall.
The people on the streets were looking at the carriage and pointing in my direction. I shut the little window curtain. The people must have thought that I was a rich lady. Charity always said that I had the hair of a lady. She always thought that blond hair was a sign of wealth. I think that that is just stupid thinking.
The carriage stopped, and I heard Jacques calming them down. Henri opened the carriage door and jumped down. He held his hand out to Gabriella and helped her step out of the carriage. Then he held his hand out to me and helped me step out.
I straightened the sunbonnet that Maria had given me and looked up at the police station. It was a fairly large building made of boring grey stone. There were stone steps that led to the entrance, and the sign above the door said, Station de Police.
"Are you ready?" Gabriella asked me. I nodded, and let her take my hand. She helped me up the steep stairs. (It was very difficult to walk in the shoes that she had given me.) We stood in front of the closed doors for a moment before Gabriella's uncle opened the door.
I stepped inside the building and looked around. There wasn't much to see. There was a large wooden reception desk about ten feet in front of us, and sitting behind it was a man dressed in uniform. He had salt and pepper hair and a little bristle growing on his chin. He sat with his feet up on the desk, and the expression on his face was very bored. He looked up when Henri steeped a few feet closer.
"What can I do you for?" He asked, putting his feet down on the floor and sitting up straight. His boots had left a few dirt marks on the table, and he casually wiped them away with his hand.
"We are here to retrieve a person whom we believe you have found, and are keeping here," Henri said.
"Well, I'm not quite sure what you're talking about," the officer said, "but I can ask my partner when he comes back. He just left to deliver something to one of the prisoners." He gestured with his thumb to a large wooden door to the right. It looked old, and worn. I had a strong feeling that I would find Charity if I opened it.
"We can wait," Henri said, and he sat down in one of the wooden chairs that were laid out for visitors. Gabriella sat down beside him. I stayed standing.
I looked around at the bare, stone, walls, and at the plain wooden desk behind which the officer sat. He had put his feet back up on the table, and I could see streaks of dirt. In his hands, the officer held a book. He was reading it when a slightly younger officer with blond hair came into the room.
"That dang girl is such an annoyance!" He exclaimed, leaning on the front of the desk. He didn't seem to notice me, or Gabriella and Henri.
"What do you mean?" The officer behind the desk asked, still reading his book.
"Well, I bring the kid the paper and pencil she asked for, and she attacks me!" The blond officer said angrily.
"Is Dudley afraid of a little teenager?" The officer behind the desk mocked, still reading his book.
"I'm not afraid," Dudley said, taking away his partner's book. "It's just bothersome." He looked at the title on the book. "What are you reading, Leonard?" He asked disbelievingly.
Leonard reached across the desk for the book, but Dudley pulled it out of his reach. "Give it back!" Leonard exclaimed. "It's my book!"
"Geez, don't be such a baby!" Dudley handed the other officer his book. "I don't even know why you like those things anyway. Unless you plan on becoming a scholar, they serve no purpose."
"Yes they do," Leonard retorted, opening his book and searching for the right page. "By the way, you have some people who want to talk to you." He gestured to Gabriella, Henri, and myself.
"What can I do you for?" The man named Dudley asked.
Henri stood up. "We are here to retrieve someone from your prison," he said.
"It depends on who you're talking about," he said. "There's only about twelve people in there, most of which are in there because they committed a crime. A couple of them are in there for truancy."
"We're looking for someone who's in there because of truancy," I said quickly. I didn't quite know what it meant, but I knew that Charity wasn't a criminal.
"In that case, follow me," Dudley said. "But be warned that you have to be their relatives if you want to get them out."
"We are not her relatives," Henri said. "But my niece here is her unofficial guardian. You see, she and her sister here," he gestured to me, "are orphans, and my niece takes care of them. She would make it legal, but most legal officials wouldn't let the children choose her as a guardian, and they were afraid of being separated."
Dudley opened the large wooden door. "Well, if it's not legal, I could get in trouble for letting the person out," he said. "But I might let it go this one time."
He peeked out to see if his partner was listening, but the other man was deeply into his book. He exclaimed something incomprehensible and jumped up out of his seat.
"Nevermind him," Dudley said when he noticed me watching Leonard. "He always gets into his books like that." Dudley closed the door behind him.
I felt in the dimness for Gabriella's hand. She held mine and helped me down the steep stairs. Dudley held a torch in front of him and was walking slowly down the stairs in front of us.
"These steps are really slippery and really steep," Dudley said. "Try not to fall." We soon reached another wooden door. Dudley reached into his pocket to get something, presumably a key. He started to frantically pat at his jacket pockets. "What the heck?" He cried. "Where are they? That little-Ooh! Just wait until I get my hands on her!" He turned to Henri. "It seems that this little girl who you're after had stolen my keys," he said. "I'll be right back. I have to get the spare." He turned and began to walk back up the stairs.
"My sister is not a thief!" I cried at his retreating figure.
He stopped and turned to me. "The whole reason she's in jail is because she stole, kid," he said. "She stole a loaf of bread." Then he turned and kept walking. I slumped up against Gabriella's arm. She held me and I cried into her dress.
I had never asked where she had gotten the food that she always brought back with her every day. I had assumed that she had gotten it through begging, or through a kind vendor. I had never for one second considered that she might have stolen. The thought made me sick to my stomach.
A/N: I hope you liked that. Sorry I haven't updated for a while. My school has blocked fanfiction, so I can only work on this at home. Please review!
