FLOSSIE'S EYE caught the plastic disc and she frowned.
'What's this?' and she lifted the thing, its chain pulling a spoon off a saucer. Instantly Soopsie replaced the spoon at its proper station and angle.
'It's all there, ma'am,' the maid said, not looking at the widow as she tidied the cutlery. 'Investments and the like. Much and more. Please, enjoy.'
There was another pause as the tea was poured, the milk settled and then a brief, experimental sip. This was followed by a considerable sip and swallow and sigh.
'Thank you ma'am,' a slightly tearful voice released itself from the usually unflappable Soopsie. Flossie glanced at her as she replaced her cup.
'For what?'
'Trusting me.'
'For goodness' sake, come, sit. Misery loves company and you're about as miserable as a wet dog on a rainy day. Don't be a stranger. Tuck in. These lemon biscuits are just right.'
With a clatter of eagerness the maid shoved her knees under the table and began her own repast with a relish not witnessed in living memory.
There was soft laughter, the clink of good crockery and the crunch of lightly baked delicacies amid conversation that settled matters to everyone's satisfaction.
'I noticed them oddments is gone,' Soopsie observed after a moment.
'Well, I had a word, polite like, and something was done.'
'Another cup?'
'Only if you tell me.'
'Tell you what, ma'am?' and the growing warmth cooled a little with apprehension.
'Why you did it.'
Soopsie the maid sat back in the chair usually favoured by Parget, perhaps the softer and less reprehensible of those old widows, and gave this burdensome question some consideration, chiefly upon how best to attack it, what angle to come at it from.
What were the things that girl had been saying in the park?
Truth is the foundation of all words, no matter what the spoken ones turn out to be. And there was something about generosity. Was it not one of the five wellsprings of joy?
'Well, I didn't trust you ma'am,' she eventually said.
'Trust me? Goodness.'
Soopsie poured another two cups of tea to linger over her thoughts a moment.
'The way they was hovering, deathbed-like, awaiting the moment. It didn't feel right ma'am. Like asking Shredder to babysit a bundle of newborn rabbits of an evening.' The guard dog was deliberately starved during certain times of day to sharpen his appetite for intruders.
'I see.'
'No, you don't ma'am. If you had you'd not be talking to me so cosy and company-like if you did.'
The maid grabbed for the Pulse Ball disc and dangled it near the lantern on the table's corner so its light scattered across the room in dancing rainbows. It was hypnotic and ghostly all at once.
'It's all yours ma'am. Didn't touch a coin, except in investments. Did very well they did, replaced all the losses and then more, much more.'
'Losses?'
'Looks like them biscuits is all finished, so I guess I'm done for the night. Already fed and watered Shredder so the help needn't worry.'
She rose and gathered the crockery with heavy-handed care. Flossie watched her for a moment, her eyes glancing at the unclaimed disc more than once as she processed matters.
'Wait!' she said, surging forward and grabbing an outstretched hand that sought a crumb-covered plate. 'I can't say I understand all of this, but a cloud of sorts has lifted. It seems a nice summer night and...' She paused and her lips worked with worry.
'...And, ma'am?' the maid said, moving to free the gentle grip on her wrist.
'Stay.'
And she did.