“What are you doing, sir?” She said, standing up and taking a step against the wall.
“We have to look as though we have been up to something, don't we? Unbutton some buttons on your dress, all the way down,” He said.
“I will do no such thing,” She said with her blue eyes wide.
“Do you want Mr. Dunbar to come up here and ask why you have not serviced his best customer?”
Katrina narrowed her eyes at him. She huffed and then began to unbutton her dress, all the way down to her belly, exposing her white shift underneath, and then laid on the bed, pushing the covers here and there to make it very messy indeed.
“Very good, I think you have the makings of an actress, Katrina,” He said as he moved to the door. He opened it and a woman held a large tray with the food that he had ordered and the bottle of scotch.
“Set it on the table there, thank you,” He said to the woman. Katrina had not seen her before; she was a stout portly woman and she assumed that this woman worked in the kitchens. The woman quietly put it on the table, took a quick look at Katrina who had pinched her cheeks in the time her back was turned to make her look flushed, and then the woman walked out.
Mason turned after closing and locking the door. He looked at Katrina and began to clap his hands. “Very well done, you say you have not done this before?” He raised his brows at her.
“Really, that is an insult. Now if I may kindly ask you to button up your pants, sir,” She said, getting up from the bed and buttoning up her dress. The smell of food made her stomach growl. She had not had anything substantial since she had left her own village, and it had been a very long time. Though she wasn't going to show any gratitude toward this rogue of a man.
“Come, let's eat. I know very well that the women are not offered a substantial amount food in this establishment. Mr. Dunbar likes to keep them slender, according to what Emma told me. Therefore I would always order a feast when I was with her and we would eat together. Look at what I have ordered, an entire chicken just for us, cheese, bread, and all good things. As well as some Scotch. Please Katrina, sit and eat.” He said as he grabbed the bottle of scotch and poured two glasses.
Katrina had not had such strong drink before; just wine. But considering her circumstances and the days that she had had, she welcomed the drink. She took a strong gulp of the libation and wrinkled her nose, something that only made Mason laugh at her even more. Then he sat down, began to break bread and cheese and pull a leg off the chicken. He set it all on a plate for her and then served himself. Together they dined, and Katrina did not know what to make of this handsome man.
Throughout the night she very much enjoyed his conversation and eating her fill, both of the food and of scotch. When she awoke in the morning, the bed was empty and the handsome gentleman was gone. But she would never forget the kindness of Mr. Mason Byers, nor his ship. It was something to look forward to in the harbour that her room afforded a view of.
* * *
chapter
0 8
* * *
“Are you looking for his ship?” Adeline asked Katrina as Katrina stood at her window.
“I must confess that I am. I have not been able to stop thinking about him. There is just something about him, even though he is an arrogant and disagreeable man,” Katrina said.
“Yes, those may be his qualities, but it sounds to me like he was a man of honour. It was very good of him to not force himself upon you, and feed you and occupy the entire night. But it has only been 2 weeks Katrina, since he was leaving to Cornwall, I very much doubt that he will be returning anytime soon.”
“Yes, that may be true. But I can look, can I not?” Katrina said.
“Yes, of course you may.”
Just then Mr. Dunbar burst through the door. Both women pressed their backs against the wall in fright. For he was always in such a mood, and he scared them both.
“How am I to make any money off of you? You have twice assaulted two customers, breaking the nose of one customer, and nearly taking the eye out of another. You are giving my brothel a bad name.” He shouted at Katrina.
“I told you before, sir, that I would do such a thing. For I am not a whore. I will kill him if he tries,” She said spitting her words at him.
“And you may continue to do so, Katrina, for you may not be my problem any further. There is going to be an auction tonight. You are to get dressed and look your best. A man from London is coming to purchase from my lot of girls, and I command that you look your best. One hour and no less!” he shouted and then left.
Katrina looked at Adeline in shocked. “Does he mean that another brothel looks to buy girls from him? A brothel in London?” Katrina said.
“Yes, indeed that does happen from time to time. I have seen women that have been sold to various men that come to purchase from Mr. Dunbar, never to be heard of again.”
Katrina walked back and forth in the room. She did not want to be in any brothel at all, but if she was bought by this London brothel, then she would have many opportunities to escape. There would be the journey from Portsmouth to London where she could escape, or she could wait and get a free and safe trip to London and then once she was in London, escape and be free and disappear into the millions of people. Yes, that was a much better idea.
“Then we must get ready,” Katrina said as she washed her face in the basin. She was determined to look as handsome as ever, and as young as may be. She brushed her hair and put them in two braids. She put on a blue dress that was Adeline’s and matched her blue eyes. She thought she looked very well indeed and was excited for the prospect of change, and anything to get away from the awful Mr. Dunbar. But then she would never see Mason Byers again. But the connection was fleeting anyways, and he did not think much of a courtesan.
One hour later, the girls of the brothel were lined up. It was during the noon hour, and there were not many customers at this time. The tavern portion was very empty, and the girls waited just as Mr. Dunbar said they should, nicely standing in a row.
The front door of the establishment opened and Dunbar walked in with a short man who seemed very fancy indeed to Katrina. She thought that he might even be wearing a bit of rouge. He was adorned in jewellery, including a ring on his pinkie finger. A top hat sat on top of his head, and his coat was very fine indeed. His shoes were so shiny that she thought that she saw the reflection of him in them.
“Here you are, Mr. Douvaine. These are my best girls who I think will suit you nicely for your needs. Some of them have very recently arrived to this place, and I dare say are very fresh. Including this one,” He said pointing directly at Katrina. She stood taller. It is fine, let him speak of me if he wished; whatever it took to get me to London.
“Yes, yes she is very pretty indeed,” The man said as he circled the women just as the other customers did. But this man took a very long time, looking at the girls up and down. He had each of them open their mouths so that he could see their teeth, something Katrina thought was very odd.
“What is your name Miss?”
“My name is Katrina Proctor,” She said.
“That is a good, strong name. Very good indeed, Katrina Proctor,” He said with his arm in the air as though he was announcing a princess on to the court. Katrina was baffled by this man. He had such an air to him and theatrics, like that she had not seen since the traveling theatre came through her small village.
“And can you sew, miss?”
“Yes indeed. My very best friend was a seamstress, and I learned from her.” Katrina answered.
“And you? What is your name and can you sew?”
“My name is Adeline Simmons, and yes I can sew. I am nine and ten years of age,” Adeline said.
“That is very good, yes very good. I shall take these two, Dunbar. Let us discuss the amount in your office while you give me a glass of port,” He said.
“Very good. Right this way,” Dunbar said as he waved to his barkeep to bring the refreshments as h
e led the man into his office. Katrina looked at Adeline and embraced her.
“This is good. We are off to London, just as I had planned. Yes it is to another brothel, but I will deal with that when we have arrived. Come, let us be ready,” Katrina said as she grabbed Adeline’s hand and they ran up the stairs to pack what little possessions they had. Then they descended the stairs and waited at the table for the man to reappear. Katrina did not want to miss this opportunity, no matter what. In that moment a courtesan named Sally Cox walked in to the tavern.
“Sally, may I ask a favour of you? It is very important indeed,”
Katrina had not made many friends at the brothel besides Adeline, and she knew that it was a risk to ask Sally, but of all the women there, Sally seemed the most decent.
“Perhaps, it depends on what that favour is.”
“If a man named Mason Byers comes to the establishment, do give him this message. Tell him Katrina Proctor was taken to London by this man that Mr. Dunbar speaks to, Mr. Douvaine.”
“Very well, if I remember,” Sally said and then walked off.
“You do like him, don't you, Katrina?” Adeline whispered to her.
“I just want him to know where I have gone is all.” Katrina felt herself blush.
A few moments later, the man Douvaine walked into the tavern.
“Now let's be on our way, you two. There is no time to lose as the journey is very long to London. And I cannot keep the Madame waiting, not when there is much work to be done.”
Katrina and Adeline joined hands and walked toward the door following the man. Katrina had to practice all the restraint that she could to not turn and stick her tongue out at Dunbar, or slap him. But she did not want to risk anything that would keep her from leaving the brothel. She was so very close and she held her breath as she walked out of the tavern, because she felt like at any moment this good fortune was going to be taken away from her.
“Here we are,” The man said as he stepped to a very ornate barouche-box. It was the handsomest carriage that Katrina had ever seen and not at all what she was expecting. Giving her station, she thought she would be on the back of a wagon without Adeline all the way to London. The man stepped in first and the women looked at each other in shock, neither of them said anything. They did not want to ruin any chances of sitting inside, for it was a very long journey.
Together they entered and sat on the plush seats of the carriage together, across from the man. The carriage jolted forward, and it wasn't until they were on the long road from Portsmouth to London, did Katrina finally relax. Now she felt like Dunbar could not come after her and change his mind. For she very much thought that it could happen at any moment. Her hand tightly squeezed her friend; together they were both very nervous.
“This is good, we will make good time and be in London by nightfall. Now pray tell me, do any of you have any acting experience at all? The man said. The two women looked at each other confused.
* * *
chapter
0 9
* * *
They arrived in London late in the night, just as he had said they would. Katrina looked with wide eyes at the city of London that was lit by gas-lit street lamps. She could not see very well in the dim light, but what she saw she thought was quite exquisite. She had never been in a very large town before, only small villages. Indeed, the buildings were quite large and regal, some of them looked to be palaces even. The carriage made its way down the cobblestone wet streets after the summer rain had descended upon it.
Finally they arrived in front of a very large grey brick home, that was two stories high. There were many people mingling out front in fine attire, and there were women among them. Katrina was very shocked and looked to Adeline, were those finely dressed women courtesans? She was very confused. And if so, what were they doing outside mingling? It looked to her like a grand party had just exited the house and awaited to step into carriages.
“Here we are, you will meet the Madame now. She must be in such a flurry, doing this alone without me here,” The man said as he tapped on the door with an ivory headed cane. The door opened as a footman stepped up. The man Douvaine stepped out and the girls followed.
“Now, now, follow me...”
“Oh Mr. Douvaine, such a wonderful show tonight. Bravo! Bravo!” a person outside in a black fine coat said. Others joined in and Douvaine nodded in appreciation.
“Show? What the devil do you think goes on here in this brothel?” Katrina whispered to Adeline in complete shock. For she was no prostitute, and she definitely was not going to perform in front of a crowd. The man had been very vague about what they were getting into when they rode to London. In fact he seemed to sleep the entire way, allowing Katrina and Adeline to speak to each other in excitement that they had escaped Dunbar.
“Come this way,” Douvaine said as they entered the house and stepped into a grand foyer with marble floors. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, and Katrina and Adeline had never seen such exquisite furnishings. People were pouring out from a side room, passing them as they made their way outside. They talked of how good the show was and of their favourite parts. Indeed they thought they could get lost in the party as a few took refreshment, and others stood mingling.
“Madame Douvaine, I have returned and I have brought you fresh blood,” the man said as he stepped to a very stately and elegant looking woman in a black dress. The black netting lay over a cream-colored silk. Her hair was piled high on her head with one sole peacock feather sticking out. She turned with her lips pursed as she looked at Katrina and Adeline up and down, examining them.
“Very good, have them wait in my parlour. Then help me see these guests out. It is high time you returned,” The woman said.
“This way,” He said leading the two girls down the hall to another room. He opened the door and sat them on a bench in front of the fire and then left.
“What is going on here Adeline? Have you ever heard of such a brothel?” Katrina asked.
“Indeed I have not. This is most unusual. But the establishment looks to be respectable. There were many women outside with gentlemen, most peculiar indeed,”
They waited for almost an hour and in that time Katrina took in the surrounding. There were paintings on the wall of stage plays, very beautifully executed. There were many books, some that she recognized as old Greek plays. The Madame must be very much into theatre,.
Then the door opened and the Madame entered.
“Now, first thing, you will be shown to your rooms tonight. Then first thing tomorrow morning I will hear you read out loud, I assume that you both can read.”
The two girls nodded yes.
“Good, very good. As Mr Douvaine has brought me illiterate actresses before and it was quite a disaster.”
“Actresses?”
“Yes, that is your new position. You are both now actresses in my theatre. This is my Grand Theatre, which holds two shows a night here, three nights a week. Then we also entertain at the grand homes of high society wherever we may be called upon. We do not do street theatre, that is very tacky.”
“But we were pulled from a brothel,” Adeline said.
“Actresses, prostitutes; high society thinks the same thing of both professions. Indeed there might be a time when our patrons want a night with an actress, and we make those arrangements as I see fit. Therefore it is easier to pull from a brothel. You do not have to be the best actresses, but you have to be beautiful and as I see you both are. Very beautiful and very young indeed. You will do nicely. There are costumes for you to choose from, but since you can sew you will be in charge of making sure they fit you yourself. We begin tomorrow. I will have the maid see you to your rooms. I still have very much work to do this evening and there were a few lingering patrons outside. Therefore stay here and you will be called upon.”
Then the Madam left. Katrina and Adeline looked at each other with wide eyes and then they embraced each other.
“This is absolutely perf
ect, I could not have asked for a better ending to our journey,” Katrina said. Where she had it in mind to journey to London to work in a factory to just have a roof over her head, now she found herself in a much more agreeable position of work. Though in the back of her mind the Madame’s words about having to spend a night with a patron if the madam saw it fit were frightening indeed. But she had defended herself in such a situation, and by then perhaps she would be in a better position to leave. For now she just needed a roof over her head and the threat of Mr. Dunbar far from her.
“I cannot believe it. How are we to have such good fortune? I very much would like to be on the stage,” Adeline said. “In truth I have not been in such a place like this since...”
“Since what, Adeline?”
“I have not told you this, friend. Indeed I have told few. I was not always a fallen woman. I lived in Hertfordshire and I was a gentleman’s daughter. But then my parents passed and I had no one to turn to. I took up a position as a maid in a grand home called Linwood Manor. It was all going well and indeed I was falling for the man of the house, a Mr. William Dawson. I thought he cared for me too, though it was never inappropriate. And then one day another man of his acquaintance forced himself upon me, and then I was thrown out of the house. I eventually ended up at Portsmouth, where I met you.
Katrina gasped. “That is very ill indeed. Oh dear, I am so sorry that happened to you,” Katrina embraced her.
Just then the door opened and a maid walked in and set down a tray of food and tea.
“Eat. I will be back in half an hour to take you to your rooms.”
The girls looked at the delicious soup, cold ham, and salad in front of them, and then laughed. How happy they were indeed. But Katrina knew that it was not respectable, for she was no whore and she did not want to be thought of as such. I shall leave this position as soon as I am able, and I will not be a fallen woman as Adeline has become.
* * *
chapter
An Alone and Destitute Girl (#3, the Winds of Misery Victorian Romance) (A Family Saga Novel) Page 4
