After the incident in the alleyway, Ruth had started whining again, and Scarlet had rightly observed that she was famished. Before Caitlin and Caleb could decide where to go next, Scarlet had insisted on leading the way to food, and had skipped off without another word, barely even asking for their approval. She had seen that Ruth was hungry and was determined to rectify that. Caitlin and Caleb smiled as they found themselves following along, twisting and turning in and out of side streets and alleyways to Scarlet’s lead.
Ruth couldn't be happier. It was as if she knew she were being led to a coming meal.
"It's not too far now, Ruth," Scarlet said, stroking her head. “Just a few more blocks. Hang in there.”
Ruth whined in delight, wagging her tail, as if she understood.
Scarlet turned to Caitlin as she walked.
"You see there?" asked Scarlet. "That's the river. Just at the end of this block. From there, we make a left, and that takes us along Bankside. Just past the row houses is a wharf, and there’s a man there that sells strips of meat. It’s not the best in town, but they're cheap. I'm afraid I haven’t any money, though.”
"Don't worry," Caleb said, reaching into his pocket and extracting a fistful of gold coins. Caitlin looked at them in wonder, wondering where he got them.
"They're not from this time and place,” he said with a smile, “but they’re gold after all. I'm sure no vendor would turn this down.”
Scarlet's eyes opened wide. "My God,” she exclaimed, “are you rich or something?"
Caleb smiled down. "Something like that.”
Scarlet practically skipped as they continued down the street, reaching the river, just like she had said. Caitlin marveled at her sense of direction. She had been leading them, twisting them in and out of back streets, determined to show them her entire neighborhood. They were on her turf now, and she had insisted on giving them a grand tour, as if she had been waiting for them.
As they reached the waterfront, Scarlet suddenly stopped, as if frozen, and looked up to her right. Caitlin wondered what she was looking at, and assumed maybe it was a tall, passing ship.
But when Caitlin came up beside her, she saw what it was. There, in the distance, on the London Bridge, those three prisoners that had been sitting on the scaffold were now being hoisted up higher.
There was a sounding of trumpets, and suddenly the platforms were removed from all three of them.
They each plummeted down, hanging and twisting by their necks.
The crowd roared.
Caitlin reached up and gently turned Scarlet’s shoulders, guiding her away from the grisly sight.
"It's okay," Scarlet said. "It happens here every day."
Caitlin looked at her with concern, and couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like for her to grow up in this time and place. "I'm so sorry," Caitlin said. "That must be very sad for you.” Scarlet looked sad for a moment, but then brushed it off with a shrug and turned away.
"Come on Ruth! It's not far now. Just this way.”
She suddenly skipped off in the other direction, turning left along the river. "There!" she yelled, pointing. “Come on, Ruth!" she yelled, running forward.
Caitlin smiled, keeping a watchful eye on her, and realized how protective she felt of her already.
She turned to Caleb, wondering what he thought of all this. She worried for a second if he was mad that they had taken her under their wing.
But he was as happy as she was. She wondered if he, too, had been contemplating if their child would have turned out like this.
He turned and smiled. "She's wonderful," he said.
"We can't just abandon her,” Caitlin said. “She has no one else to watch out for her.”
"I know," Caleb said.
Caleb reached out and they held hands as they walked along the bank, watching Scarlet and Ruth running. Caitlin felt her heart warm with emotion, and felt certain that, at that moment, Caleb, too, thought of her as their child. It brought tears to Caitlin's eyes.
Scarlet and Ruth ran up onto a large wooden structure along the river bank. Before it hung a sign which read “Falcon Inn.” It was a large, bustling inn—and judging from the people hurrying in and out, a seedy place.
Caitlin and Caleb caught up to them, standing behind Scarlet as she walked up to a small booth in the back of the hotel, hidden from sight. There was a man wearing a greasy, bloodstained apron, slicing huge chunks of meat.
"Two please," Scarlet said to the man.
He scowled down at her. "And where do you expect to find the money to pay for that today?"
he asked, mocking. "Like I told you before: no money, no meat.” Caleb cleared his throat, stepping forward. "You will, in fact, give the girl two pieces of meat, as she requested," he said sternly, glowering down at the man. "In fact, you will give her as much meat as she wants.” Caleb reached out and placed a large gold coin into the man's beefy palm.
The man looked down, eyes opening wide at the large piece of shining gold. Caitlin realized that that probably represented enough money to pay for a thousand pieces of meat.
The man quickly set to cutting huge chunks of meat off his spit, handing them in rapid-fire to Scarlet. The second they hit her hand, she reached over and dangled them in front of Ruth, who jumped up and snatched them off her fingers.
Scarlet laughed with delight.
The man handed her another piece, and she did it again—and again, Ruth snatched the meat.
Scarlet screamed with laughter. "You're so hungry, Ruth!"
Ruth licked her lips. The man kept slicing meat, in bigger and bigger chunks, and Scarlet kept feeding them to her.
After six more slices, Caleb stepped forward.
"The next piece is for you, Scarlet.”
She took the next piece with delight, eyes open wide, and devoured it. Clearly, she was ravenous.
“We’ll each take one, too," Caleb said, and the man cut them each a slice.
Caitlin bit hard and sucked the blood out of it, and she saw Caleb do the same. She felt it trickle through her veins, and realized how famished she was—for real blood.
It took the edge off. But it also made her realize that she needed to feed—to really feed. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to be disciplined. There was probably a forest not far from here, and she would force herself to wait.