Nat listened quietly.  So, the story Jimmy had said about Mr. Appleton was totally a lie.  She could totally understand though.  She shook her head.  "I'm not here to take anyone's place or opportunities.  I just want a chance to work and make a life again.  My parents were dead and the shop I couldn't take care of, not at my age."

"I was staying with a nice family when I was getting better,"  she paused to explain that, "I tried to protect my mother from the ones that were robbing the shop and killed my father.   We were on the stairs to find out what was going on when we saw Papa..." she took a breath to stable her voice. 

"He was dead there on the floor.  The men came up and were saying some bad things to Mother.  I wasn't going to let them hurt her or me.  They threw me down the stairs after hitting me a few times, then I was more in or out.  I saw...."  she played with some of her food, then went past that part.  "I was I guess thought dead.  There was a lot of blood, and my head hurt bad.  Still have the scar."  She indicated at her temple the crease that went around her temple to back along her ear.

"Anyway... I stayed with the neighbor family.  But they had four little ones and one on the way.  I sat outside on the fire escape and heard various people talking about what might happen to me if I went to an orphanage as they had.  We were down in London, you know.  Not a great area."  She admitted.  "I figured I could make it on my own.  So, I took a few things of mine and left London.  This is the first time though that I've been able to have a solid job and not just here and there jobs.  So, I am grateful.  Really grateful.   Working here is just fine for me."