The Silent Orphan

As he shared the bed with four boys in the workhouse, Gid Cobbler knew he would never be a thief like his father and he would never face the hangman. He would never be like him.Flatley's Undertakers was to be Gid's salvation and the root of many childhood nightmares. Rescued from the workhouse to work among the dead and to lead the funeral processions as the mute, Gid learnt his place quickly. He often regarded the young Martha Flatley as his buffer against the cruelty of her twin brothers, but he had never been able to read her emotions or her intent.He would never have thought that breaking the rules of his employment to speak to the mourning girl with the magical eyes would lead him down such a strange road.Abigail Gresham became the obsession of his dreams.Miss Gresham had Haverstock House all to herself now that she had buried the last of her family. She would need someone to keep her company; someone to be devoted to her alone. The mute would do just fine, and she would have him, she had decided, she would do anything to keep him close just as her mother had demanded on her deathbed.But Gid's meandering road had not ended, and the smog thickened on London’s grimy streets, Gid wasn’t sure of the path that he would tread. Would the path he choose end up breaking his heart?