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The figure straightened up and began to speak once more. “I looked for work, as a proper woman would. I spent the entire next day looking for work, and the day after that.” “And eventually your looking led you here.” “Yes, eventually. It’s quite difficult for a woman who can’t read English to find work with thousands of soldiers wandering the streets doing the exact same thing.” “So how did you find this place? These people?” “I did not find this place and these people. They found me.” The prostitute’s gaze was still distant, and still on the wall. “I responded to an advertisement in one of the papers seeking ‘female secretaries.’ I should have known what it was all about when the madame downstairs here,” Heidi glanced at the floor beneath one of her shoes, “asked if I was willing to work evenings for very good money.” “Well, what did you say?” “I said ‘yes.’ I imagined it had to have been something illegal, but I didn’t care by that point. I had no more money left for rent or food, much less money for a ship home.” Now Heidi’s angry eyes turned to the man sitting with his own legs crossed, albeit with much more stiffness. “It’s interesting how the soul changes once hunger begins to set in.” The white hands with manicured nails gripped the bedspread with an angry firmness. “Tell me about you, Walter.” “What about me?” “That was the agreement. We would tell each other where we were from.” “Well, I said we would talk about where we were from, not actually say where we were from.” “You’re playing word games with me, Walter.” |