The Declaration

brother.’
    And then the Small began to cry, and the noise cut right through to Anna’s heart and she would have done anything to make him happy again, and she worried that it was her fault and that her parents were going to be angry with her.
    Fearfully, she looked at the woman.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ she said anxiously. ‘What did I do wrong?’
    But the woman, her mother, just laughed and took the Small in her arms and said, ‘Well, he’s hungry even if you’re not.’
    Anna’s face flooded with relief, and she smiled and said, ‘I am, really.’
    Then her father smiled and got up, saying he’d bring her some food, and Anna thought to herself as he left the room that she had never known that such a wonderful place could exist with people who were so kind. It scared her, because she knew she didn’t deserve it, and she knew she didn’t deserve her brother either, or her parents, or Peter. And she knew that somewhere out there the Catchers were searching, doing everything in their power to track her down.

Chapter Twenty-two
    ‘So she drove us most of the way to London.’
    ‘And can you trust her?’
    ‘Yes. I mean, she would have told the Catchers when they were there, wouldn’t she? If she wanted us to get caught?’
    ‘I suppose. And you walked the rest of the way? And no one saw you? No one at all?’
    Anna stood at the kitchen doorway hesitantly, not sure whether to go in. She’d been in bed for what felt like days. Apparently she’d had a fever, which meant that she had to ‘get lots of rest’. Which had been absolutely fine by her – it was the most comfortable bed she’d ever been in, more comfortable even than the bed she had slept in at Mrs Sharpe’s house when she worked there. It had a huge padded blanket on it, and two pillows, and every time she had tried to sit up and get up, she’d found herself sinking back down, not yet ready to face the world.
    Her parents and Peter were talking seriously, sitting at a big wooden table in the kitchen.
    Suddenly her mother looked up and saw her and immediately got up.
    ‘Anna, Peter was just telling us about your journey,’ she said softly. ‘Would you like some breakfast?’
    Anna nodded. She felt sleepy still, which was stupid because she’d had more sleep than anyone could ever need. She stifled her yawn and tried to look more awake.
    She was shown to a chair at the big wooden table, and food was put in front of her that she didn’t recognise, but that she ate anyway, and it was the most delicious thing she’d ever eaten. She didn’t say anything because she wanted them to keep talking about whether anyone saw them. If there was any information that would make her feel more secure and safe from the Catchers, she wanted to hear it. And if she wasn’t safe, then she wanted to know that too.
    ‘We’ve got a bit of time, I think,’ her father said seriously, pouring her a cup of tea, which she’d only seen Legals drink and had never had herself before. It nearly burnt her mouth, but it was delicious and sweet, so she continued drinking even though it was too hot.
    ‘We should lie low here for a few days,’ he said. ‘The last thing we want is to be out on the road when the Catchers are searching everywhere. Pip agrees we’re safer here than anywhere else.’
    ‘Barney says they’re crawling all over the place,’ her mother said, a hint of tension in her voice.
    ‘Catchers are always crawling all over Barney. That’s nothing new.’
    Anna kept quiet, her eyes cast downwards. She wanted to know who Pip and Barney were, wanted to know why the Catchers crawled all over Barney, but she didn’t know whether questions were polite on the Outside, and she didn’t want to appear rude.
    Peter caught her eye and grinned at her.
    ‘You OK?’ he ventured. ‘Got enough sleep now?’
    He was laughing at her, she realised, and it made her smile.
    ‘I suppose,’ she said, pleased to see he didn’t look at all worried about Catchers. Maybe they were safe here, after all.
    Peter got up again to help himself to food, and Anna found herself turning to her mother. It was no good – she had to ask.
    ‘Will . . . will you go to prison? If the Catchers find us? And will they take the Small away?’
    Her mother looked at her, confused. ‘The Small?’
    Peter wandered back to the table. ‘Ben. She means Ben.’
    Her mother nodded. ‘Of course.’
    Then she looked at Anna and took her hand. ‘No one’s going to prison, Anna,’ she said,