The Magnificent Lizzie Brown and the Mysterious Phantom

by Vicki Lockwood

  Lizzie reached up and began unhooking the backdrop from its hanger, keeping her eyes on her work. Anita was so small that she only reached Lizzie’s waist, and Lizzie paused and stole a look at her. “I hope you don’t mind my asking, but how come you’re so tiny?”

  “Never grew much since I was born.” Anita sat down in her chair and pointed up at the backdrop. “Keep on unpinnin’.”

  Lizzie turned back to her work. “Don’t you hate sitting here being stared at by strangers?” She shuddered. “I know I’d hate it.”

  “I did to begin with,” Anita admitted. “But I’m used to it now. There’s folks here who look out for me. Life here ain’t as tough as it was out there.”

  Lizzie glanced over her shoulder. “What did you do?” she asked. “Out there I mean?” She wondered if Anita had lived anywhere as awful as Rat’s Castle.

  “I did what I could,” Anita told her. “Beggin’, mainly. No one’d give me proper work. And beggin’ was no picnic. People used to throw things at me, kick me. Once someone picked me up and threw me. Like I was no more than a dog.”

  “Why do people have to be mean?” Lizzie asked. She unhooked the last hook and laid the backdrop on the stage.

  Anita pointed to a fresh backdrop folded beside her chair. “I guess they don’t know no better.”

  Lizzie scooped it up and began hooking.

  “I’m glad Fitzy found me,” the tiny woman told her. “Saw me beggin’ and asked me to join his circus. Of course, I’d rather be a lady livin’ in a big house with servants and all that, but I’m safe in my penny gaff.”

  Lizzie paused. “What’s a penny gaff?”

  “You’re standing in one,” Anita told her. “It’s a sideshow. Something a person would pay a penny to see.” A loud bell clanged outside, and Anita hopped off her chair. “That’s Fitzy. Sounds like he’s got an announcement.”

  Lizzie quickly finished hooking up the backdrop, then jumped down after Anita and crossed the field to where Fitzy was standing outside the big show tent.

  The Fat Lady stood puffing beside him while the Amazon Queen sat on a barrel sewing fresh feathers onto her headdress. Show folk streamed from every wagon and tent, and Lizzie recognized the acrobats and clowns from the parade. Dwarves toddled beside giants. A boy on stilts stopped and leaned against a rope.

  “Lizzie!” Erin and Nora came running across the grass.

  Lizzie rushed to meet them. “What’s Fitzy want?”

  “Dunno.” Erin shrugged.

  “The mayor’s here,” Malachy said, ducking under a rope and stopping beside them. “He’s come to see Pop.”

  “The Mayor of London?” Lizzie gasped. “Here?”

  Nora grinned. “Our pa said he’d come.”

  “He’s made friends with Pop,” Malachy explained.

  “Where is he?” Lizzie scanned the crowd until she saw an older gentleman step from the shadows behind Fitzy. Erin let out a loud whistle, and Malachy hooted as the crowd erupted into cheers.

  “Hooray for His Lordship!”

  “Long live the mayor!”

  Lizzie stared open-mouthed — it was the old gentleman who’d given her soup and the penny. The Lord Mayor of London!

  The mayor waved the crowd into silence. “Thank you for your warm welcome. I’ve come to tell you that when you set up at Victoria Park next month, I will lead the official opening ceremony!”

  As the show folk burst into more cheering, Fitzy stepped forward and shouted, “Three cheers for the mayor!”

  “Hip hip hooray!” Lizzie shouted with the crowd.

  “Hip hip hooray!”

  “Hip hip hooray!”

  “The mayor’s support will mean bigger audiences,” Fitzy went on. “And better write-ups in the press. Victoria Park will be our best show ever!”

  Malachy whispered in Lizzie’s ear, “The papers don’t usually have anything good to say about us circus folk.”

  “Now, back to work.” Fitzy looked at his pocketwatch. “The first show starts in four hours.”

  As the crowd melted away, Malachy glanced at Lizzie. “How are you enjoying circus life?”

  “It’s brilliant!” Lizzie winked at him. “Almost worth being poked awake with a stick.” Malachy looked sheepish, and Lizzie nudged him playfully. “I’m joking,” she said. “I never thanked you for convincing your pa to take me on.”

  Malachy shrugged. “You’re welcome.” Lizzie thought she saw him blush as he turned and hobbled away between the booths.

  Erin tugged Lizzie’s sleeves. “You’re coming to watch us practice, aren’t you?”

  “Next time,” Lizzie promised. Right now, she wanted to make herself as useful as she could. She began to pick her way around the show tent, hopping over the ropes until she spotted a large man heaving a tall pole onto its end. She rushed to help.

  “Let me hold it,” Lizzie said. She ducked under the man’s elbow and clung onto the pole, holding it in place while the man fixed its ropes onto pegs.

  “You’re strong for a little ’un.” The man’s voice was deep. Lizzie glanced at him and suddenly realized he was the tallest man she’d ever seen. He held out a huge hand for her to shake. “I’m Mario.”

  Lizzie stared up at him. “Mario the Mighty! From the poster! You’re the circus giant.”

  He must be ten feet tall! Lizzie thought. She wondered what he’d look like standing next to Anita.

  Mario nodded toward another tent pole. “If I lift that into place can you do some more holding while I fix the ropes?”

  Lizzie nodded and braced herself, ready to take the weight of the pole as Mario heaved it up onto its end.

  “Did you hear about the mayor?” Mario asked as he looped a rope around a peg.

  Lizzie nodded and hugged the pole. “It’s great that he’s opening the circus in Victoria Park.”

  “If that don’t bring the crowds in, nothing will.” Mario grinned. “The mayor’s a good ’un. He knows what it’s like to come from poverty.”

  Lizzie pricked her ears. “Really?” She remembered the twang in the mayor’s voice.

  “He was raised in Jacob’s Island,” Mario told her.

  Jacob’s Island. Lizzie could hardly believe it. That was more of a slum than Rat’s Castle. Pa used to say, “Just be grateful you ain’t stuck in Jacob’s Island. They feed their babies to dogs there.”

  Lizzie shivered. “How did he get out?”

  “He worked his way out,” Mario told her. “From errand boy to mayor and not a false step in between.”

  “I seen him the first night I was here,” Lizzie told Mario. “He gave me soup and a penny. Best soup I ever tasted. I was starving.”

  Mario looked at her quizzically. “Where are you from?”

  “Rat’s Castle,” Lizzie replied.

  Mario shook his head and lifted another tent pole. “You’re better off here.”

  Lizzie rushed to help balance it. “Don’t I know it!”

  “Poverty can do evil things to a man’s soul.”

  Lizzie thought of Pa and shuddered.

  * * *

  “Is Harry here?” Lizzie peeked through the tent doorway. A foul stink hit her nose, and she covered it with her hand. It was the end of a long day. Dusk was falling, and the crowds were gathering outside.

  A boy was sitting on a stool near an elephant. “I’m Hari,” he said.

  “Hari.” Lizzie repeated the name, copying the boy’s soft accent. It felt clumsy on her tongue.

  “It’s Indian,” Hari explained.

  “Oh.” Lizzie stepped inside. She knew India was part of the British Empire, but she’d never met an Indian before. She bowed awkwardly. “Do you speak English?”

  Hari smiled. “Yes. Do you?”

  Lizzie flushed. “Of course.” The elephant behind Hari shifted on
the straw, and she backed away. “He’s not gonna stomp on me, is he?”

  Hari laughed. “No. And, by the way, he’s a she.”

  “I ain’t stayin’ if you’re gonna laugh at me!” Lizzie said. “How was I meant to know? They don’t have bloomin’ great elephants where I come from!”

  Hari stroked the elephant’s trunk gently. “I’m sorry.” His brown eyes softened. “I know elephants make people nervous.”

  “They’re just so big,” Lizzie said, lifting her chin.

  “This is Akula.” Hari beckoned Lizzie closer. “Come and give her a stroke.”

  Lizzie had seen the elephant before when she was going for her bath. She was huge. As Lizzie eyed the enormous animal warily, another shape moved in the shadows on the other side of the tent. Lizzie stiffened as she realized it was a second elephant.

  “That’s Sashi,” Hari told her. “They’re very gentle. Come.” He beckoned again. “Come stroke Akula on her trunk — that’s her nose.”

  Reluctantly, Lizzie stepped forward and reached out a hand. She was determined not to tremble, but her fingers quivered as they neared Akula’s trunk.

  “Don’t be afraid. She likes to be stroked,” Hari reassured her.

  Gently, Lizzie touched Akula’s trunk. It felt dry and warm. Akula stood still while Lizzie ran her fingers over the rough hide.

  “See?” Hari said. He reached up and scratched Akula behind her ear.

  Akula curled the end of her trunk, and Lizzie saw its soft pink tip. Imagine having a nose that long, she thought.

  Hari grinned as Akula lifted her trunk higher and sniffed Lizzie.

  Lizzie forced herself not to run as the elephant ran the snuffling tip of her trunk over her. “Hello, Akula.” She stroked her trunk. “I’m new here. I guess I smell funny.”

  Akula lifted her trunk higher and puffed air into Lizzie’s face. Lizzie hopped backward in surprise.

  “She likes you!” Hari laughed.

  “Really?” Lizzie looked at him.

  “Really.” Hari picked up a short, stout stool and put it beside Akula’s foreleg. “Come on, girl.”

  “What are you doing?” Lizzie asked.

  “We have to file their toenails before the show,” Hari explained.

  “File their toenails?” Lizzie echoed. Hari couldn’t be serious. “What with?”

  Hari lifted a large iron file from the straw. “This.” He tapped the back of Akula’s leg. “Come on, girl.”

  Akula lifted her foreleg and placed it on the stool. Bending down, Hari began to file her huge toenails.

  Lizzie watched, amazed, as the file sent a shower of dust onto the straw. Hari worked steadily and quietly. There was a calmness about him that put Lizzie at her ease. “How did you know the elephants made me nervous?” she asked.

  “People often get cross when they’re scared.” Hari kept gently filing one nail after another. “Next leg, girl.” He tapped Akula, and she swapped legs.

  Lizzie crouched down in the straw and cupped her chin in her hands. Hari was a slender boy with smooth brown skin and the darkest eyes Lizzie had ever seen. His black hair curled softly at his neck as he worked.

  “Do you want to try?” he asked suddenly.

  Lizzie blinked. “I d-don’t know.”

  Hari held the file out. Lizzie took it and approached Akula’s huge foot. Tentatively, she gave one of the toenails a swish with the file. It slid over the nail.

  “Harder,” Hari encouraged.

  Lizzie swished the file again, more firmly. This time dust showered from the nail. Akula swayed beside Lizzie but didn’t move her foot.

  “That’s perfect,” Hari murmured.

  Lizzie began filing the nail where it hung over the edge of Akula’s pad. She was concentrating so hard she barely felt Akula’s trunk snuffling her back.

  “There,” she said at last, straightening and admiring her work. Akula’s toenails were short and smooth. She gave the file back to Hari. “You’d better do the back ones,” she said. “I don’t know how to make her swap legs.”

  Lizzie sat back in the straw while Hari moved the stool and began filing the toenails on Akula’s hind legs. Suddenly she realized how quiet it was here. Outside, the circus was bustling, but Hari was alone in the elephant tent. “Don’t you get lonely with just the elephants for company?” Lizzie asked.

  Hari shook his head. “I prefer it,” he said, patting Akula’s side. “Animals are easier to be around than people sometimes. They never hide what they’re really feeling. You never have to guess.”

  “I s’pose,” Lizzie said. She touched the bruise on her cheek — it had always been clear what Pa was feeling. Lizzie wondered suddenly about the Phantom. The show folk had been talking about him all day, shocked by the violent turn his crimes had suddenly taken. “What do you suppose the Phantom is feeling when he commits his crimes?”

  Hari went on filing. “I think he’s ashamed.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he wears a mask. People do that when they’re ashamed of themselves.”

  Lizzie remembered the ghoulish sketch in the newspaper. “Do you think it really is a mask?”

  “It must be,” Hari insisted. “That’s no human face.”

  “Some people are saying he’s not human.”

  “Oh, he’s human all right,” Hari argued. “Very human. That mask doesn’t just cover his shame — it makes him feel bigger and better than he really is. Haven’t you noticed how people often use clothes to make themselves look important?”

  Lizzie pictured the rich folks on Oxford Street. They were always done up in silks and top hats, like they were more important than the beggars and tradesmen who had to wear what was needed rather than what they wanted.

  “I hope they catch him soon,” Hari said softly.

  “So do I,” Lizzie agreed.

  “If he’s turned violent, it means that robbery isn’t thrilling enough anymore,” Hari said. “If it’s excitement he’s after, he’s going to get more and more dangerous.”

  Lizzie tucked her knees under her chin and hugged them close. “I hope not.”

  Hari stepped away from Akula and slid the file into his back pocket. He smiled suddenly, his white teeth bright in the dusky light. “Come on.” He held out his hands, and Lizzie grabbed them and let him pull her up. “How would you like to sit on an elephant’s back?”

  Lizzie swallowed nervously. “I don’t know.”

  “Here.” Hari tapped Akula’s leg and she lifted it. “Put your foot up here.”

  Surprising herself, Lizzie climbed onto Akula’s knee.

  “Up, Akula, up!” As Hari spoke, Akula wrapped her trunk around Lizzie’s waist and hoisted her up into the air.

  Lizzie gasped as Akula sat her gently down on her back. She stared down at Hari. He seemed a hundred feet away. “It’s so high!” She wanted to laugh with exhilaration. She was sitting on top of an elephant!

  “Lizzie?” Erin popped her head round the door.

  “What are you doing up there?” Nora asked, following her sister into the tent.

  “I’m being the Queen of Sheba,” Lizzie said proudly.

  “Come down!” Nora flapped her hands. “Malachy’s bringing someone to meet you!”

  “Who?” Lizzie turned onto her belly and let herself slide down Akula’s side. She felt Erin and Nora’s hands catch her and lower her gently onto the straw.

  Malachy’s voice sounded from the doorway. “I would like to present . . .”

  Erin made a drumroll sound while Nora tooted like a trumpet through her hands.

  “. . . the Great Dru Boisset!” Malachy waved his arm with a flourish, and the boy from the poster came somersaulting through the doorway. Landing as nimbly as a cat, the boy threw out his arms and bowed.

  Lizzie stared at him. She’d th
ought the artist might have exaggerated how good-looking he was, but no — he really was that handsome, his green eyes sparkling in the half-light.

  “Are you one of the acrobats?” Lizzie asked. It was all she could think of to say.

  “An acrobat?” The Great Dru Boisset lifted his hands in mock horror. “Mais non!”

  Nora and Erin collapsed into giggles, and Malachy gave Dru a playful shove. “Stop showing off.” He turned to Lizzie. “Dru works in the high-wire act.”

  “The high wire!” Lizzie felt dizzy just thinking about it. “With that lady on the penny-farthing bicycle?”

  “She’s my sister, Collette.” Dru flung himself down onto a heap of straw. Erin and Nora curled up next to him, pulling Lizzie down beside them.

  “Don’t you get scared up there?” Lizzie asked. She couldn’t imagine being that high off the ground.

  Dru shook his head. In perfect English, with the slightest hint of a French accent, he said, “Up there is the only place I feel like me.”

  Lizzie glanced at Hari. “Like Hari with his elephants.”

  “And us on horseback!” Nora added.

  Malachy sat down. “I feel happiest with my feet firmly on the ground.” He tapped his club foot with his stick. “Even if one of them’s firmer than the other.”

  “Join us, Hari!” Erin called. “I know we’re not elephants, but we’re nearly as nice.”

  Hari grinned and gave Akula a pat, then sat cross-legged beside Nora.

  “Right.” Erin leaned forward and stared at Lizzie, eyes bright. “We want to know all about you.”

  “Me?” Lizzie felt suddenly self-conscious.

  “Of course!” Nora insisted. “You’re the most exciting thing to happen here for ages!”

  “I’m not exciting,” Lizzie told them quickly.

  “Of course you are,” Dru argued. “You are a mystery, appearing from nowhere in the night.”

  “Where are you from, Lizzie?” Erin leaned closer.

  “A place called Rat’s Castle.”

  “Rat’s Castle?” Nora wrinkled her nose. “That sounds horrible.” She slapped her hands over her mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude!”