Mrs Pearce: “Just one moment Sir, I´ll get it.”
After a few minutes she returned with some coffee.
Mr Higgins:” Oh, is Liza still sleeping, go for her I want her to have breakfast with me.”
When I said this Mrs Pearce started to shiver so that the saucer and the cup of coffee started to clink.
Mr Higgins: “What´s the problem Mrs Pearce?”
Mrs Pearce: “Oh, ahm, it´s just I don´t think that Liza is still sleeping.”
Mr Higgins: “Well, than she can come downstairs.”
Mrs Pearce: “Well she´s not here.”
Mr Higgins:” What do you mean with she´s not here? Where the devil can she be?” I stood up. “ Why isn´t she in her room?” I was really angry and confused.
Mrs Pearce:” She left tonight. This morning she came in a cab to get her things.”
I couldn´t believe it.
Mr Higgins (shouting):” But why , and where did she go?”
Mrs Pearce:” Well she was very angry with you and sad about the argument you two had last night, but overall I think you hurt her with some things you mentioned to Colonel Pickering after the dinner.”
I didn´t know what to say so I went upstairs to the third floor to make sure that she really wasn´t in her room.
It was empty, and the bed has not been used this night. Most of her things were gone.
I returned to the living room and sat down, not knowing what to do next.
She had no reason to leave this house. Nobody ever treated her bad, in contrary, she had everything she wanted. I couldn´t understand this silly girl. But where could she have gone, she doesn´t know anybody, besides these people she knew from her old life of the gutter, but I was sure she wouldn´t return there.
Mr Higgins:” Bring Colonel Pickering, he should know what happened.”
Mrs Pearce:” Yes Sir, and don´t worry, you will find her.”
Mr Higgins:” I´m not worried at all about that a stupid thing.”
Mrs Pearce:” Of course sir, I go for Colonel Pickering.”
While I was waiting I was just thinking where we could find her and if I should phone the police.
Colonel Pickering:” Morning Higgins, Mrs Pearce just told me the bad news, what happened, why did she leave. Is there something I don´t know what could be a reason? Mrs Pearce said you had an argument with her after I already went to bed.”
Mr Higgins:” Yes we had, but nothing why she would have to leave the house at once. In fact she was not only angry with me but also with you, because in her opinion we treated her like an experiment and not like a person, you know her silly stuff.”
Colonel Pickering:” Hhhm, we should search for her.”
Mr Higgins:” But where, I don´t have any idea where she could be. But we could go with my mother, she always has a sense for such things. Not that something like that has ever happened to me before, but I just don´t know what else I could do.”
Colonel Pickering:” I think that´s a good idea, at least I don´t have a better one. Let´s go.”
W took a cab to my mother´s house. The maid opened the door and while we waited downstairs for my mother we called the police and reported Liza as lost. But the police didn´t want to acsept that, because Liza was neither a relative nor married to anyone of us, so he suspected us to have some inproper purpose. I went upstairs to my mother´s room and told her that Liza left and that I needed to find her.
She wasn´t really on our side an defended Liza, what I couldn´t understand. But then another unexpected thing happened. Mr Doolittle came tomy mother´s house, but he wasn´t anymore this drunken poor dustman, but an expensive dressed gentleman, who became rich because after the first time he visit me I mentioned to an old blighter who was given five millions to found Moral Reform Society, that Alfred Doolitle was the most original moralist of England. I never thought that because of this joke, the old blighter would leave him a share worth three thousand a year and the only thing he has to do for the money is to lecture six times a year. But he wasn´t really happy about it, because now everybody wanted his money. My mother said, that he would now be able to provide for Liza´s future, but that made me really angry, because he had sold his daughter for five pounds, so she doesn´t belong to him. And then the next surprise came, my mother told me that Liza was upstairs.
Lorena Fischer
