Chapter Eight
Mrs Whittaker – the ritual – intruders – fire! – strength – in the tunnels – thieves and fighters – battle
Mrs Veronica Whittaker arrived at her factory in an old-fashioned carriage drawn by two horses, if you please, none of that caloric-steam nonsense. She glanced up at the clock above the factory door. It read one minute to eleven. Her coachman would keep his job for one more day. She tucked a brown paper package under her arm and alighted from the carriage.
Her factory was one of many on the Isle of Dogs, in the colossal shadow cast by the hull of the Iron Duke. It was an unappealing little box-shaped building of red-grey brick. The local children always tried to keep upwind of the place, but Mrs Whittaker always smiled at the chemical scent of the place.
Under the fa
