The Clockmaker's Daughter

Birdie watches her visitor sleep and reflects that she misses having a face and voice. She describes living with Mrs. Mack, Mrs. Mack’s brother, the Captain, who had a wooden leg, and Mrs. Mack’s son, Martin. They took in children for payment, and Mrs. Mack had special plans for the narrator. An older girl called Lily Millington takes Birdie with her when she goes out, and while she waits for Lily in the market, Birdie watches the vendors, particularly a French magician. Lily is killed weeks later, beaten to death by a sailor, and Birdie says that “she gave me her name: the most valuable thing she had to give” (103).

One night, Birdie is summoned to the parlor where Mrs. Mack gives her a fancy dress with deep pockets. Birdie does not like the way Martin, a few years older, stares at her.

Her visitor stirs, and Birdie tests whether he can sense her. She guesses that he does. He reminds her of a soldier named Leonard. She feels like something unexpected is coming.

Summer 2017. Elodie sits in her flat, wearing her mother’s veil and watching the river. She thinks about the photograph and the sketchbook and the feeling that they belong with her and she had been meant to find them.