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“I e could ask Papa,” fretted Anne “Or Tabitha She knows all manner of tales about the moors and pixies and kelpies and suchlike She’ll know if it’s safe to ride a railway car with a tiger tail”
The other three glanced back toward the end of the line of train cars They hadn’t noticed But Anne saw everything A long, enor off the caboose, flipping lazily from side to side like a bored house cat
“They’d think we’d gone mad and we’d all have to sleep with a doctor instead of a doll,” Emily said
Charlotte nodded She kept nodding, as though she’d had a private conversation with herself and it had co Maria and Lizzie would have gone They’d have gone anywhere rather than back to those horrible cold doret death for tea I won’t let Cowan Bridge take me Never Never”
Her words snagged on Emily’s heart Maybe Charlotte did understand Their faces all went cold and serious
“Never,” whispered Emily
“Never,” Charlotte said again
“Never,” promised Anne
“I want to take the train,” said Branwell He had no fear of School Papa taught his only son himself in his musty, wonderful study, and alould, for he trusted no one else with the job Bran felt terribly sorry for his sisters, but it was hardly his fault that the world was so deterreat dealto do with hi to do with him
Anne clasped and unclasped her hands She whispered: “But won’t Papa be worried if we don’t coht home? Won’t Aunt Elizabeth cry and cry until she dries out completely like a kipper?” She couldn’t bear to think of the for footsteps that didn’t cohost stories always made her shake and shiver and sob
Branwell snapped at his sister, annoyed to the teeth at having to consider such boring things “We’ll just pop off for the day, Annie We’ll catch the evening train home from Glass Town just like proper businessmen and no one will be the wiser”
E train They would not just pop off for the day Even if Glass Toas the Devil’s oshed, it was better than School They’d already told him that But Branwell never listened They twisted their littlest fingers together and held their tongues
“But where e get a million pounds?” whined Anne “Each?”
Charlotte reached up under the wrist of her glove and ripped off one of the dove-gray little buttons sewn there in a neat row She remembered the Game of And they’d played around the laundry tub And they’ll take us away to the Kingdos and buttons for pounds
“Come on now, all in,” she said “Hurry up! Everyone put in—you too, Bran Oh, get the one off your coat, then, you great idiot! Stop arguing! I’ll tell you what I’ once I’ve done it! Don’t you trust me?”