Moon and Sixpence

Moon and Sixpence is a public house associated with Jessica’s reported efforts to befriend Sid Towers and with Shirley-Ann’s later suspicions about their connection. The visits are established through other characters’ accounts; the possibility that the pub hosted planning meetings for the Penny Black theft remains Shirley-Ann’s conjecture, not a confirmed event.

A Place for Conversation

Jessica says she spent time with Sid at Moon and Sixpence on more than one occasion. When the visits are raised in questioning, she objects to their being made to sound like infidelity and explains that she felt sorry for him and wanted to draw him out. She says the other Bloodhounds largely ignored him, while Polly sometimes fussed over him. The pub thus enters the story as a setting for attempted companionship with a man who had difficulty connecting with the group.

Jessica and Sid

Another account says Jessica took Sid to Moon and Sixpence a few times. She reportedly knew about his job, admired his courage in joining the Bloodhounds, and liked him. These details give the visits a personal context: Jessica’s attention to Sid was presented as sympathy and regard, rather than evidence of hostility toward him.

A Suspected Meeting Place

Later, as Shirley-Ann walks toward Top Lock, she considers how Jessica and Sid might have coordinated the Penny Black theft. She imagines that the pair would have needed lengthy discussions about casing the Postal Museum, gaining entry, creating diversions, composing riddles, and publicizing them. Moon and Sixpence is part of the reported history of their time together, but Shirley-Ann’s further conclusion—that the pub could have been where they worked through the intricate plan—is speculation. She cannot determine how Jessica could have held such meetings without alerting A.J. or her husband, or whether either man was involved. The location consequently carries an unresolved tension between ordinary social visits and a possible criminal purpose.