‘What did you do that made me angry? Goddess he’s stupid! What did you do and I said you’d get no dinner? Aye that’s right, remembered now, have you? So will you get any of this nice dinner now? No. That’s right, you’ll go hungry. Now get in your bed!’
Whimpering, he scuttled over to the corner and flung himself down onto the fetid rug on the floor under the stairs, the dirty alcove serving as his bedroom. He was treated like a dog, even down to the bowl on the floor. He sat there rocking backwards and forwards, curled in misery as the three women laughed.
‘Shall I tell him about the bath?’ whispered Starling gleefully.
Magpie’s reaction was as they’d imagined, and it was only the threat of a sound beating from Jay that persuaded him to leave his bed and follow Starling down the lane. He shuffled behind her, whimpering the whole way, terrified of the ordeal that lay ahead. She laughed and scolded in turns, frightening him further and enjoying his terror. At the bath house she kicked him into a cubicle and began to fill the bath with hot water. Magpie snivelled noisily until she’d had enough; picking up the metal jug used for rinsing hair, she clouted him over the head with it.
Half an hour later they re-emerged, Magpie much cleaner but still smelling disgusting as he’d had to put on the same filthy clothes. Starling waddled grimly to the centre of the Village and entered the food stores. She might as well get more supplies now she was here with Magpie to carry everything. The boy did have his uses.
Leveret was delighted to have Magpie back at school because she’d been lonely without him. There were many students of her own age at school as she’d been born towards the end of the baby boom, but by nature, Leveret had no close friends. She was prickly and secretive and rejected any tentative invitations to join one group or another. Lately she’d been worse than usual, skulking about the Hall under her own black cloud, unable and unwilling to confide in anybody about her dark unhappiness.
Magpie wasn’t in any of Leveret’s teaching groups. She was one of the high fliers whether she liked it or not, and he bumped along at the very bottom of the non-academic group, learning basic literacy and numeracy skills and a practical trade. When Magpie had first arrived at the Hall School four years ago, it had been difficult for Miranda to place him anywhere. She tried her best, but he was kept at home a great deal with various ailments, and when he did turn up his attention span was short and his communication non-existent. He spent most lessons gazing out of the window vacantly, or if he had any paper, drawing tiny sketches.
On a practical level Magpie was often sent into the huge kitchen gardens to learn about growing vegetables and fruits. There he was an asset when it came to undertaking the very mundane, repetitive tasks that others hated, such as planting peas; he’d take the same slow care with the last pea as the first. He never skimped or rushed a task but would continue doggedly until it was completed, provided the instructions were very clear and simple.
On his return to school after this latest absence, Magpie slouched into the Hall along with all the others who walked up every day from the Village. But unlike them, he didn’t stand around in the main entrance hall talking in groups as he had no friends and couldn’t talk. Nor did he go to his first class to leave his bag as he didn’t have one. Instead he went straight to the Galleried Hall where morning assembly was always held. He’d looked for Leveret on his walk to school and was sad not to have found her, but he loved this great room and it cheered him up.
The stained glass was beautiful, especially in the morning with sunlight streaming through. He was also fascinated by the carvings up on the roof bosses and particularly liked the faces of the Green Men and the triple hares. He stood still on the ancient stone flags, neck tipped back as he studied the vaulted roof. It was too early for assembly so he had the place completely to himself. After a while his neck ached so he lay down on the floor on his back and found he could see the carvings