Star polishing 6/11

She tried to explain why she was there but the landlord came out from behind the bar and walked towards her, waving his arms to make her go out of the door. She waited for him outside; not quite sure whether he was going to chase her away or just come and tell her off.

In fact it turned out to be neither. “Sorry kid,” he said in a low voice, “there’s an officer of the Watch in there and I had to make a good show of applying the rules for his sake. Come and see me after closing time. That broom looks useful even if it is a strange colour, so I’ll try and fix you up with a job. You look as if you need one, you could do with a new dress for a start.”

Jennifer Jane headed off towards the timber yard, no, the carter had called it a port. She went down to the river, turned left and walked along the river road. Once again it all seemed familiar, until she turned the corner round the cliff. There were buildings in sight but they were very different from the timber yard she was used to seeing.

This side of the riverbank was built up with a continuous quayside. The road ran along the length of the quay, while warehouses lined the other side. It was rather like the docks that her father had taken her to see in London, only on a much smaller and simpler scale. A great variety of boats were tied up, loading and discharging cargo. The whole area had a high fence built round it, while the road passed through a gate with a small building like a sentry box to one side.

She was pretty sure what would happen if she tried to walk in through the gate. She was quite right.

“Where’s your pass? No entry without a pass and no entry for kids in any case. Clear off and don’t come back without good reason or I’ll box your ears!”

She turned away and started back towards the Three Tuns. Getting back home wasn’t going to be quite as easy as she’d hoped. If she was going to stuck here for a while she’d have to find some way of earning her keep. Chocolate swiss rolls were no use to her this time, there was no magic.
At least the landlord had offered her a job and maybe she could talk him into giving her bed and breakfast in return for her labour.