The magician was lost in thought as he shuffled his cards, his hands machines, natural to the motions and the flow. It was a habit, I realised, one that revealed something more complex whirring beneath the grin and the wink. He fascinated me, had done for weeks. Quick glimpses, hurried catching of the eye, never stare directly, never commit; today… Read it
Tubeline - Circle line
My Most Precious
Do you ever stand, toes at the threshold of that yellow line and imagine some nutcase is going to push you in front of the train? I always do. Every time the warm assault of air whips the hair against my cheek, I cast a furtive glance over my shoulder and judge. Charcoal suit; not crazy. Blow-dry; not crazy. Skinny,… Read it
Values Laid Bear
I alighted at Paddington station and bought a cookie from the stand. White chocolate and raspberry, crunchy and crumbly and casting delightful smells from its snug paper bag. Before I could walk and enjoy my treat I spied a teddy bear sitting alone and forgotten against a pillar and decided I would do my good deed and take him to… Read it
Emeralds & Diamonds
He called me his Queen. I never called him my King. Except once when he gave me a brooch. “You listened?” I said. ” I thought you were asleep.” One night, when the world was at its coldest and darkest, I awoke sweating from a nightmare. It was then I whispered my one and only story into his ear. It was the… Read it
Blood’s Worth
Bludworth had a few decades’ amount of blood in pails around the fine doors of Mansion House. Where did it come from? The blood leaked from the boils of the plague of 1665, gathering in pails and soaking the wooden beams of the houses that were now going up in smoke. The men brought the blood to him. It sat… Read it
Josephine & the Detective
At first, Josephine had suspected her pretty young dresser Maxine. Who could have blamed her? They were such beautiful creations; any girl might be tempted. But Maxine had beat her fists against the dressing room mirror and sobbed, protesting her innocence. A month later, three more exotic costumes went missing, including her famous banana outfit. Something had to be done.… Read it
The Proposal
“Go on,” I laugh, “I, a milliner’s daughter, marry a Prince?” “But you are the most desired widow in Britain,” my Prince replies. He is on his knees crawling after me. His fine buttoned waistcoat snags. “Didn’t you refuse a Duke for me?” he implores. “You know I did – that stinking old man!” My hand catching the golden thread… Read it