Seven, which was still half-open.
She’s gonna scream
, he realised, heart thudding, fear at being discovered finally hitting him as the shock of finding her in the room wore off.
Carpenter’s voice sounded in his head.
You need to be on your best tonight for this job, S. It’s not one you –
we
– can afford to mess up.
The girl glanced at the door again. Suddenly she spoke in a rush of tumbling words, her voice clipped with the poshest North accent he’d ever heard. ‘If you’re not planning to rape or kill me, could you please just shut the door?’
Seven stared. He had to have misheard her.
‘Oh,’ she breathed when he didn’t move. She shut her eyes and stepped back, grasping the table behind her, letting out a little puff of air. ‘You
are
planning to rape or kill me –’
‘What?’ Seven gasped. ‘No!’
Without really knowing why (he could have closed the door with himself on the
other
side of it, surely?), he pushed the door shut. The girl watched him, head tipped low, a curtain of hair fallen over her shoulder and half-covering her face.
‘What
are
you here for, then?’ she asked, jutting up her chin and pushing off the table. A steely undercurrent sharpened her voice. ‘I’ve had a bad enough day without having to deal with you too, so if you could just get whatever you’re planning over with and leave me in peace, that’d be wonderful. Thank you very much,’ she added, as though remembering her manners.
Seven gestured round the memorium. ‘Well, I kinda need to use this room.’
‘You need to use this room?’ she said warily. ‘Why?’
‘To steal something.’
The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. But then again it was pretty obvious what he was here for, him being a complete stranger and having broken into her house in the middle of the night.
He coughed. ‘So what are you doing here?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘I said, what’re
you
doing here?’
The girl’s nose wrinkled. She took a quick huff of breath. ‘You don’t ask someone why they’re doing something in their
own house
.’
Seven shrugged. ‘Just seems kinda odd, you being here in the middle of the night. Getting me to shut the door ’cause you’re scared someone in the house will hear us and find you here.’ He forced down a grin. He kind of wished Loe was here to high-five him. She would have appreciated that.
The girl looked guilty again for a moment, before rearranging her expression into anger. ‘Oh, I could tell on you. Don’t think I won’t. My father certainly won’t be very happy to see you here. Do you know who he is?’
Just like that, Seven’s heart began hammering away again.
‘I’ll give you a clue,’ she went on. ‘His last name begins with a W.’
Seven eyed the girl, wondering whether he could bring himself to punch her. If he could just knock her out, he’d be able to steal the skid and go. But she was a
girl
. It wouldn’t be right to hit her. Besides, she’d seen his face: she’d be able to tell her father exactly what he looked like.
He ran a shaking hand through his hair. The way he saw it, he had two choices. Either he ran away and hoped to effing hell Alastair White couldn’t be bothered to dirty his shoes in South to find him, or he told his daughter exactly why he was here.
The girl pursed her lips. ‘Well? Shall I call for Father? I should warn you – he will
not
be happy being woken at this hour.’
Seven scowled, doing a quick mental calculation. Face the girl’s father? Certain death. Face the girl … living was a decent probability.
He’d take those odds.
‘I’m a skid-thief,’ he told her, ‘and I’ve come to steal one of your father’s memories.’
10
ALBA
Throughout their exchange, Alba had been convinced someone in the house would hear them. The whole time she’d been imagining what her parents would do if they found her here in their memorium, and with a boy, no less.
It wouldn’t be pretty.
Somehow,
She’s gonna scream
, he realised, heart thudding, fear at being discovered finally hitting him as the shock of finding her in the room wore off.
Carpenter’s voice sounded in his head.
You need to be on your best tonight for this job, S. It’s not one you –
we
– can afford to mess up.
The girl glanced at the door again. Suddenly she spoke in a rush of tumbling words, her voice clipped with the poshest North accent he’d ever heard. ‘If you’re not planning to rape or kill me, could you please just shut the door?’
Seven stared. He had to have misheard her.
‘Oh,’ she breathed when he didn’t move. She shut her eyes and stepped back, grasping the table behind her, letting out a little puff of air. ‘You
are
planning to rape or kill me –’
‘What?’ Seven gasped. ‘No!’
Without really knowing why (he could have closed the door with himself on the
other
side of it, surely?), he pushed the door shut. The girl watched him, head tipped low, a curtain of hair fallen over her shoulder and half-covering her face.
‘What
are
you here for, then?’ she asked, jutting up her chin and pushing off the table. A steely undercurrent sharpened her voice. ‘I’ve had a bad enough day without having to deal with you too, so if you could just get whatever you’re planning over with and leave me in peace, that’d be wonderful. Thank you very much,’ she added, as though remembering her manners.
Seven gestured round the memorium. ‘Well, I kinda need to use this room.’
‘You need to use this room?’ she said warily. ‘Why?’
‘To steal something.’
The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. But then again it was pretty obvious what he was here for, him being a complete stranger and having broken into her house in the middle of the night.
He coughed. ‘So what are you doing here?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘I said, what’re
you
doing here?’
The girl’s nose wrinkled. She took a quick huff of breath. ‘You don’t ask someone why they’re doing something in their
own house
.’
Seven shrugged. ‘Just seems kinda odd, you being here in the middle of the night. Getting me to shut the door ’cause you’re scared someone in the house will hear us and find you here.’ He forced down a grin. He kind of wished Loe was here to high-five him. She would have appreciated that.
The girl looked guilty again for a moment, before rearranging her expression into anger. ‘Oh, I could tell on you. Don’t think I won’t. My father certainly won’t be very happy to see you here. Do you know who he is?’
Just like that, Seven’s heart began hammering away again.
‘I’ll give you a clue,’ she went on. ‘His last name begins with a W.’
Seven eyed the girl, wondering whether he could bring himself to punch her. If he could just knock her out, he’d be able to steal the skid and go. But she was a
girl
. It wouldn’t be right to hit her. Besides, she’d seen his face: she’d be able to tell her father exactly what he looked like.
He ran a shaking hand through his hair. The way he saw it, he had two choices. Either he ran away and hoped to effing hell Alastair White couldn’t be bothered to dirty his shoes in South to find him, or he told his daughter exactly why he was here.
The girl pursed her lips. ‘Well? Shall I call for Father? I should warn you – he will
not
be happy being woken at this hour.’
Seven scowled, doing a quick mental calculation. Face the girl’s father? Certain death. Face the girl … living was a decent probability.
He’d take those odds.
‘I’m a skid-thief,’ he told her, ‘and I’ve come to steal one of your father’s memories.’
10
ALBA
Throughout their exchange, Alba had been convinced someone in the house would hear them. The whole time she’d been imagining what her parents would do if they found her here in their memorium, and with a boy, no less.
It wouldn’t be pretty.
Somehow,
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