Diamond Read online

  ‘Cry-baby! See, Julip, she’s even turned Marvo against me. And did you see Beppo smarming all over her! We do all the work and yet all we get is blows!’ Tag shouted, and he stormed off across the field.

  ‘Oh, Tag, please, come back! Don’t be cross. I promise I won’t dance about next time. I won’t do anything,’ I cried.

  ‘Leave him, Diamond. He’s just cross because he usually gets all the attention. You did perfectly – and if you please Beppo he’ll be all the sweeter to us too,’ said Marvo.

  ‘He won’t ever be sweet to me,’ said Julip, and he mooched off in the other direction.

  ‘Oh dear,’ I said, sniffling.

  ‘Don’t worry. They’ll both be back for the grand parade at the end of the show. Come, let’s go back to the wagon, little girl. You’re shivering.’

  I had three real older brothers, but they’d never treated me as kindly as dear Marvo. I couldn’t stop shivering even back in the wagon, so he wrapped his huge greatcoat around me to warm me up. It trailed across the floor when I walked and my arms came only halfway down the sleeves, which made us both laugh.

  ‘I think we need a little tonic,’ said Marvo, and he produced a bottle of ginger beer. We shared it, sipping from the neck alternately. Marvo rummaged in his tea-chest and found an old pack of dog-eared cards.

  ‘Here, I’ll light a candle. Can you play Beggar my Neighbour, Diamond?’

  I couldn’t, but I learned soon enough and we had a grand game together. Marvo didn’t have a pocket watch, but he knew by instinct the correct time to return to the big top for the closing parade. When we got there, Julip and Tag were already waiting. Julip gave me a little nod. Tag still glared, but when it was our turn to go into the ring he clasped my hand. We stepped out, all four in a line, and when I saw the smiles spread across the faces of all three boys, I made myself smile too, and the audience roared louder. Someone threw something at me and I ducked, startled. Another object came flying towards me, and I gasped, wondering why I was under attack.

  ‘They’re oranges,’ said Marvo. ‘They’re throwing them at you because they like you! Gather them up. We’ll share them out tonight.’

  So I gathered up a great armful of oranges. Tag had a fair share too. Beppo took three and juggled with them, capering along beside us. He was still smiling when we got out of the ring.

  ‘Well done, all four of you!’ he said. ‘We’ll have a slap-up supper to celebrate.’

  Marvo grinned, Julip squared his shoulders and even Tag smirked. We didn’t have the usual dubious stew. Beppo sent Tag running to the nearest butcher’s for five fine chops. He fried them with onions and streaky bacon and mushrooms, and then we each sucked an orange for afters. I asked if I could take an orange to Madame Adeline as a present, and Beppo was in such a good mood he just nodded cheerily.

  ‘For me, darling?’ said Madame Adeline, when I shyly handed her the orange. ‘But it’s yours, my love. You eat it.’

  ‘You’re always giving me nice treats, Madame Adeline,’ I said. ‘Please take it.’

  ‘Bless you, child . . .’ She looked as if she might cry, and insisted on giving me a slice of cake and a special violet chocolate in return.

  ‘Don’t stuff yourself too much, little one,’ said Beppo, seeing my full mouth. ‘We don’t want you sicking it all up in the second show for all to see.’

  I found I was desperately nervous all over again for the evening performance – and this time I worried even when I was in the ring, though I took care to keep a big smile on my face. I knew I had to perform the way Beppo wanted or he would beat me – but I didn’t want to make Tag hate me even more, so I gave a very subdued performance, trying not to prance too much. I was so anxious that I stumbled when I did my back somersault and very nearly landed with a bump on my bottom in the sawdust – but this mishap made the crowd love me even more. ‘Aaah, the little pet!’ they cried. ‘Nearly took a tumble, and no wonder, she’s so tiny.’ ‘Doesn’t she look a real star? Such a pretty baby!’

  I felt my face flushing – while Tag’s was scarlet with rage. When we came running off he pushed me violently again and called me terrible names. Beppo saw and heard it all, though Tag didn’t seem to care.

  I thought Beppo would be angry, but he simply chuckled.

  ‘My, the boy’s jealous! What a temper!’ he said.

  ‘I’m sorry, it’s all my fault,’ I said.

  ‘No, you haven’t put a foot wrong. Well, you did, actually – that was a hopeless back somersault and you should be ashamed of yourself, little Miss Fairy – but it didn’t matter a jot, did it? They loved you even more, God bless ’em.’ Beppo pinched my cheek. ‘Five guineas well spent!’

  I COULDN’T HELP feeling proud, especially when folk lingered outside the big top and called my name excitedly, wanting another smile and wave from me. I wished Mary-Martha could see me, and Matthew and Mark and Luke and little John. I wished Pa could see me too, though it might upset him. But we’d already moved on from my home town. We moved on most Saturday nights, everyone working together the moment the show was over.

  I had to help too, collecting up the cushions from the best seats and storing them in great boxes. I helped Madame Adeline wrap all her pretty china in newspaper for the journey and helped Flora pack up her perambulator and her parasol and her long tightrope in a special trunk. All the menagerie artistes wanted to feed their own animals and secure them in their travelling cages. I certainly did not want to go near the great yellow lions who smelled so rank and devoured their meat so ferociously.

  I was even a bit afraid of their water cousins – the males were too big and whiskery and they barked their heads off at the sight of a bucket of fish. I was certainly too much in awe of great Elijah to stand too close to him. But I started to help cage the troupe of performing monkeys, and loved packing up all their props and tiny costumes. I adored the monkeys – especially little Mavis, the baby.

  These monkeys were much more interesting than surly little Jacko. They looked just like tiny, ugly people, but with such cute faces and lovely furry bodies. They had a special cage with real trees planted in great pots, so that the monkeys could swing amongst their branches, clinging on with their tiny hands, sometimes upside down, using their curling tails.

  When I could get away from Beppo and the boys, I’d go and watch the monkeys in their cage. It took me a while to sort out all the adults, but right from the start the baby was my favourite. Most of the time she rode on her mother’s back or clung upside down to her stomach, but would sometimes wander off on little forays of her own, especially if she spotted a choice nut or apple chunk that had fallen out of the feeding tray. She’d suddenly dart off, seize the morsel, scamper right up to the highest branch she could find, look around furtively to see if any of her older relatives were watching, and then nibble happily at her treat.

  I don’t know if the older monkeys were all relatives, but Mr Marvel, their trainer, got them decked out as a real family when he showed them in the ring. The oldest male was Marmaduke, and he had a tiny top hat and wore astonishing miniature boots on his hind paws. When he sat down on his little velvet armchair he kicked them off one at a time while his ‘wife’, Melinda, scurried to his side with a tiny pipe and a pair of diminutive carpet slippers. Their grown-up ‘daughter’, Marianne, went to a ball with a ribbon about her neck and waltzed round and round with a very small fiancé monkey called Michael, who kept trying to puff on a toy cigar while dancing. Marianne objected, and eventually seized the cigar and bit it in two.

  Baby Mavis was by far the funniest little performer. Melinda would fetch her from the ‘nursery’, tenderly lifting her out of her little rocking cot and giving her a real bottle of milk. Then she made a great to-do of patting her on the back until Mavis made a rude windy noise, which made everyone laugh.

  Melinda tried to get Mavis dressed in a napkin and little knitted jacket, but Mavis kept wriggling, attempting to get away, until eventually Melinda lost patience and sat on he