to , do not ask questions , just do what you ’ re told . Understood ?’
I nodded .
‘ Quiet one , eh ? You ’ ll do well .’ She walked away , leaving me in my room . I unpacked my meagre possessions and sat on the bed . When I first mentioned my original lodgings , I was ungenerous with the truth , mother . You see , in Whitechapel , the cheapest doss houses are either the ones where you share a room with twenty other people , or the benches . The doss rooms are likely as not to end with me being stabbed , robbed , or other unthinkable endings . With the benches , you sit down , and a rope is laid across your chest , holding you up while you sleep . Then at first light , the cord is loosened , and you wake up on your way to the ground .
But now , I had a bed with linens and a pillow . They weren ’ t the softest in the world , but they were mine . And I would work as hard as I could to make sure I kept them .
ring …
I looked up at the hanging bell and waited for it to
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