He shook his head.
“Yes, you might, Digory. If there’s anything that bothers you, you only have to tell us … tell me or Jacco. We’ll always help if we can.”
He looked blankly at me and there was still in him that which reminded me of the caged bird.
He said: “Tell you what. I’ll get rid of your Devil’s kiss.”
I put my hand to my temple.
“Oh, it’s all right, Digory. It doesn’t bother me. My father says that when I grow older I’ll call attention to it. Blacken it to make it stand out and make people notice my eyes.”
“There’s them,” he said.
And he meant that frenzied mob.
I could see that he wanted to attempt to charm away my mole and that this was his way of showing appreciation for what I had done for him. “Never brush aside people’s attempts to repay you,” my mother had said. “You may not want repayment but their pride demands that they should give it. Do take it graciously.”
I saw what she meant now.
“All right, Digory,” I said. “You shall charm away my mole.”
We came into the turret and went down through the house. Every now and then he would pause and gaze wonderingly about him. I was pleased and felt I had seen a new side to his nature; he might be uneducated but he had an eye for beauty. He seemed to find it difficult to tear himself away from the tapestries and I had to tell him again about the wars which had inspired them.
I did not know how long this tour of the house had taken but I did realize that time was passing. Isaacs might return; and Mrs. Penlock was only interested in having her fortune told and would not stay after that had been done.
I said: “They’ll be back soon.”
A look of fear came into his face. He was then all eagerness to get away. I was leading him to the front door but he was anxious to leave by the way he had come, which was through an open window in one of the kitchens.
I felt then that I was a little nearer to understanding him and as soon as Jacco came in I would tell him what had happened and suggest that we try to see him now and then and make him realize how secure he was and that while he was under my father’s protection, he was safe from the savagery of a superstitious mob.
I was unprepared for the sequel. It happened two days after our tour of the house.
Jacco and I had been out with our father. Jacco had to learn a good deal about estate management and he was often with my father on his round. I was free to accompany them whenever I wished and that was often because I was very interested in the people who were Cador tenants.
As we came into the stables John Ferry came hurrying out.
“Oh, Sir Jake,” he said, “there be trouble. ’Tis about that boy …”
There was a faint tightening of the lips which betrayed the unspoken comment: “I could have told you so.” This indicated that Digory was in some sort of trouble.
“What’s happened?” asked my father.
“Slattery have caught him red-handed, Sir Jake,” Ferry explained. “A tidy-sized piece of beefsteak he had … was stowing it away in a bag when he was caught. No doubt about it, sir. There was the steak in his bag.”
“What was the point of stealing steak?” demanded my father. “He’s well fed here, isn’t he?”
“There’s them that’s thieves by nature, sir. They do it natural. It’s a habit of a lifetime.”
“Where’s the boy now?”
“Down at Slattery’s. Slattery’s going to charge him. But he said he’d tell me first and I could tell you like … seeing as how you’ve taken the boy in.”
Jacco and I were looking at our father anxiously. He said: “Come on. We’ll go to Slattery’s and sort this out.”
Tom Slattery, the butcher, was a fat red-faced man with a slight resemblance to the pigs which hung up in his shop, except that they had oranges in their mouths and he had broken teeth. He always wore a blue-and-white striped apron, faintly bloodstained, over his grey trousers and my memory of him is standing over a slightly concave board with a chopper in his hands.
We left our horses tethered to the rail and a few steps from the shop and went in.
In the parlour behind the shop cowered Digory, trying hard to hide his terror. We were surprised to see Luke Tregern, the Hansons’ gamekeeper, with Slattery.
“Good day, Slattery … Tregern …” said my father. “What’s all this about a pound of beefsteak and the boy?”
“Well, Sir Jake,” said Slattery, “he be nothing but a thief. Not that we ain’t known that. ’Tis no surprise, as you might say. I had me back turned for a minute and I hears a shout. ’Twas a mercy Mr. Tregern here just come into the shop. See him take it up, he did, and when I spins round there he is stuffing it into his bag all ready to dart out of my shop.”
“That’s the case, Sir Jake,” said Luke Tregern. “I caught the boy in the act.”
He looked rather pleased with himself.
“He’s been thieving all his life,” said Slattery. “Slippery as an eel, that one is. I’d never have known he’d been in and out of my shop if it hadn’t been for Mr. Tregern here.”
“I’m glad I came in when I did,” said Luke Tregern.
Digory turned defiant eyes up to my father.
“Is this true?” asked my father. “Did you steal the steak?”
Digory didn’t answer.
I could not restrain myself. I said: “Why did you do it, you foolish boy? You get enough to eat, don’t you?”
Still he did not answer.
“There must be a reason,” said Jacco.
“Tell us why you stole the steak,” said my father. “Were you hungry? If you don’t tell us, how shall we know what to do about you? If there is a reason, you must tell us.”
There was another silence. Then he lifted a finger and pointed at me.
“My daughter!” said my father. “What has she to do with it?”
“’Twas for her,” said Digory.
“I don’t understand.”
“Had to be secret meat. No one to know where it come from … or it don’t work.”
“What is he talking about?” asked my father.
“Devil’s kiss,” said Digory.
Then I understood. I touched my temple. “Was it this?” I asked.
“You know,” he said. “You wanted it done.”
I said: “I think I understand. Digory wanted to do something for me. He noticed this.” I pointed to my mole. “He was going to get rid of it for me. Was that what the beefsteak was for, Digory?”
He nodded. “It has to go on. Then I put on the brew. After that … ’tis gone in two days.”
“But why did you steal it? I could have got some steak in the kitchen for you.”
“’Tas to be secret. You can’t know where it do come from.”
I said: “It is all clear to me. Digory was trying to do me a good turn. He was going to remove this mole because he thought it was not good for me to have it.” I looked appealingly at my father. “You can understand it after … after …”
My father nodded.
“He wanted to repay us … Jacco and me.”
Jacco said: “It’s quite simple. He was going to take away Annora’s mole and she wasn’t to know where the steak came from or it wouldn’t work.”
“I have never heard such nonsense,” said my father. “You see, Slattery, this is a children’s game. Leave the boy to me. I’ll deal with him.” He put a sovereign on the table. “That’ll take care of the steak and you can keep it as well as the money. I don’t suppose it came to much harm in the boy’s bag. Now I’ll leave you to your business. Thank you for sending to Ferry. Shouldn’t attach too much importance to childish games. I’ll give the boy a talking-to … and my daughter, too.”