‘No, I didn’t mean that. They didn’t realise that under my nose I had a real treasure which I had ignored all these years. You see, Cat, even with Captain Sparkler gone, I still have one treasure left in Drury Lane. I have my Cat . . . useful in a tight spot. I’ll certainly bear you in mind next time I or any of my friends land themselves in trouble.’
His words warmed me, thawing the last remnants of fear that lingered from my night among the disreputable and disgraced. I blushed at his kind words. No one at the theatre had ever said before that I was of any value.
‘So, are you ready to return to the party?’ he asked.
‘Party?’
‘Yes, to welcome home Cat: the diamond of Drury Lane.’
Balloon descends. Curtain falls.