A Wanton Tale
Page 13
Sophie stepped out and watched them go up the street and turn at the top. It was suddenly quiet, the street had returned to normal. No music, no acts, no laughter, they had all gone.
She was distraught to see that, in fact, this was not a normal ordinary street, it was far worse than that, it was ugly. There was an acrid stench of effluent, the houses were flat fronted, some of the windows were broken, from which ragged curtains hung. The broken squares of glass had just been patched up with board. The houses were in a rundown state with green slime running down the walls through years of damp and neglect. All of the dwellings had roof slates missing.
Sophie felt frightened and out of place. She was concerned for the people who had to live in these terrible conditions. She was anxious to rescue the girls. Instinctively, she was drawn to the house. There were women standing at their doors with their arms folded, gossiping at the same time noticing the well dressed girl. All had hair parted in the middle, dragged back into tight buns. They all wore black clothes with shawls around their shoulders, she noticed that many of them had holes in their dresses and soles coming away from their boots.
Sophie nervously walked a little way and was soon standing in front of number 10. The three children were sitting on the steps. They looked wary.
‘Are you all alone?’ Asked Sophie.
‘Our Ma and Pa are in trouble and we don’t think they are coming back.’ The younger girl, Ruby, spoke tearfully. ‘The lady across the street, called Sally, has always been there for us. She has gone out. If Sally had been here we would know what to do.’
Sophie was taken aback by the girls’ prettiness, they looked like Alice except they were very thin and shoddily dressed. The small boy, looked strangely familiar. She didn’t immediately realise that the boy must be a younger Jim. She had no time to think too deeply. She had been instructed to save the girls, it didn’t matter about the boy but she hadn’t been told why. ‘Why not all three?’ Thought Sophie. ‘And from what?’
The three angelic faces before her eyed her with suspicion. She smiled back at them, her voice was gentle. ‘Come with me, you must hurry, you are in danger, your mother and father are not coming back.’ She stretched out her hands towards the children, still huddled together on the step as though they were one.
The boy was, suddenly, defensive and stood up. ‘NO, NO!’ He shouted and ran away.
He skilfully dodged passed her and darted down the street as fast as his feet could carry him. He ran across the street, then through an alleyway leading to the court dwellings, leaving Sophie looking at the two girls urgently.
They seemed to consider their next move. Apparently decided, as they stood up, Ruby took hold of Sophie’s outstretched hand. Her fingers were trembling. Timidly, the older girl took her other hand. All three began walking to the top of the street. The drably dressed women in the doorways looked on, but said nothing. Previously, they had shown little concern for the girls and today was no exception.
Sophie could feel the presence of Larry’s entity coming nearer. She could feel good energy, now running through every fibre of her body, a sense of warmth was embracing her. Then she heard the music and laughter.
Sophie looked at her two charges as they neared the troupe. They were no longer frightened, their forlorn faces broke into smiles. Their filthy house and the dirty streets were fading behind them as was the drone of the gossiping women.
For the very first time in their young and miserable lives they were smiling. Sophie heard the familiar voice of Larry and watched the girls stare at him with wonder on their faces. They were safe.
Chapter 10
The Confrontation
The Royal Liverpool Infirmary was a dark and dismal place. Lottie could smell illness and death as soon as she arrived in the austere and cavernous entrance hall. She was still crying and was highly distressed. The two policemen, who had escorted her handed over the papers from the court to the matron in charge. They then hastily left, having done their duty, they had no desire to stay there any longer than was necessary.
The matron eyed Lottie with disdain, her immediate impression was that she must be an ageing street walker. Two young nurses quickly came over to help the new patient. Their starched white uniforms and smartness were an intimidating presence. Lottie looked and felt dirty, she was both dishevelled and frightened.
‘Get her in the bath and give her something to eat and drink.’ The matron didn’t even look at the patient, it was as though she wasn’t there. Lottie felt worthless and even more so when she overheard the nurses talking. They were whispering to each other but she could hear every word.
‘Some women don’t know how to look after themselves, disgusting.’ She heard one say. ‘At her age an’ all, as though we haven’t got enough to do with really sick people without having the likes of her in here.’ The matron read the papers from the court and shook her head. ‘She’s not physically sick.’
Lottie was staring wildly into space, hardly noticing the other patients. Their cries of pain and suffering were stifled by her own disturbed thoughts. She felt as though she wasn’t really there, as though she was an outsider, an observer, not in the reality of her situation. Within an hour she was seen by a psychiatrist. She was propped up in the bed in the corner of the high ceilinged ward, now wearing a clean night dress. Lottie had no idea that she would be seeing a psychiatrist, nothing was explained to her.
Lottie had no idea what a psychiatrist was. She had no control over the situation she was in, everything was just happening around her. She was weak and meekly relinquished all decisions about her life to the care of others.
The tall balding man wore spectacles perched on the end of his nose. He was wearing a white coat and was a frightening figure before her. His voice was harsh and patronising. He had come across women ‘like her’ on many occasions. He considered women the weaker sex, believed them to be more susceptible to emotional breakdowns and mental illness.
‘I see she is in her late thirties, nurse.’ He remarked. The nurse was slightly intimidated by his presence. Her professional demeanour never betrayed her inner feelings. This man had the same effect on all of the nurses, he was an ogre. At all times they conveyed to the doctor an air of confidence. He asked Lottie several pertinent questions, hardly making eye contact, he continued writing. With a flourish of his hand he wrote the word ‘Hysteria’ on her notes in large letters.
He believed that women were synonymous with madness. ‘This one was living proof that they were deemed to be emotional and unstable.’ Thought the doctor dismissively, ‘Mmm, classic symptoms, prone to emotional outbursts.’ He spoke down his nose.
Bed rest was recommended, seclusion, bland food. He then arrogantly added, ‘And refrain from mental activities such as reading.’ The poor woman could barely write her name, never mind read. The nurses rightly suspected that she was an alcoholic, her gin gut was a tell-tale sign. Her mournful face, before them, did nothing to inspire any sympathy. It was established that she would be sent to Rainhill. The solitary confinement she was about to face in the Asylum would sadly drive her to further insanity.
Back in Circus Street, two smartly dressed women were walking towards number 10. The cut of their coats, their smart shoes and hats made them look decidedly out of place in this shabby street. The two women arrived at the Boyle’s house and saw it had an air of abandonment. Sally Walsh, who lived opposite, was sitting in her chair looking out of the front window. She was intrigued by the sight of the two ‘ladies.’
‘Judging by their style of dress, they are definitely ladies.’ She thought.
Sally craned her neck further forward and pulled back the lace curtain so she could get a better look at what was going on across the street. As it was the day of the court hearing she knew that there would be no answer. The three children, she imagined would be playing out. Sally wasn’t fast on her feet but she decided to go to the front door to find out what they wanted.
‘Maybe they are from the
church.’ She thought. She was quite a stocky woman and with some determination she stood up from her comfortable chair. She was keen to speak to these women. She eagerly rolled up her sleeves and strode out to the front door. Her presence attracted their attention.
When they had introduced themselves she was most surprised to learn that they were from Dr. Barnado Homes. Sally was relieved to hear that there was someone who would help the children. She learned of Charlie’s jail sentence and Lottie’s committal to the lunatic asylum. She was saddened by the news, but was more concerned for the children who were now effectively left orphans. The women had told her that they had come to collect the three children.
‘Please come in ladies, can I make you a nice cuppa tea?’ Asked Sally kindly. The two women looked in need of refreshments, they had come on foot from another part of town. On hearing that the children would be taken away Sally was upset at the thought of not seeing them again. She knew that the girls in particular would have to be cared for.
‘Things are bad around here, there is thieving and drinking and I know that girls as young as twelve can go missing, like their sister Alice and never be seen nor heard of again. I wouldn’t want the bother of having a daughter in this neighbourhood, there are evil, cruel men out there who misuse them. We must find Rachel and Ruby, I don’t know where they are but I saw Jim up the street about ten minutes ago. I fear for the girls.’
They had a long conversation and drank their tea, the women listened to Sally with interest. They went on to explain how they were charged to help abandoned children. She was told that their work involved finding loving adoptive homes for children who are suffering from neglect and exploitation. This struck a chord with Sally and after careful thought, she expressed a willingness to offer Jim a home.
‘There’s plenty of room here and my brother helps me out moneywise. Jim wouldn’t like to be taken away from here. I know he couldn’t bear to be parted from his friends.’ She smiled at the women, then added, ‘Especially not Florrie, she lives at the top of the street with her mother.’
One of the women offered Sally a note on which had been written their address. She asked her to get in touch with them as soon as the children returned. In the meantime, they would ask the police to look out for them. Sally agreed to look after all three children until they came back to collect the girls. They made a point of telling her that they were acting on the orders of the court.
‘The next time we meet, Mrs. Walsh, we will bring the papers for Jim’s adoption. We are satisfied that he will be brought up in a loving and caring home, thank you.’ Sally assured them that he would be well taken care of and showed them to the door. She sat down and anxiously waited for the children to return. She would keep her eye on the door of number 10 for the rest of the day. She was ruminating as to where the girls might be and wouldn’t rest until they came back.
An hour later, two burly men were seen hammering on the door. Sally recognised them as bailiffs, she had seen them in the area before. ‘They’ll get nothing worth a light out of there.’ Thought Sally with a sigh. ‘The parents deserve all they’ve got, but the children don’t deserve this at all.’ She thought it was terribly sad.
It was nearly five o’clock and there was still no sign of Jim nor his sisters. Sally had been on pins all day and couldn’t wait any longer, she was feeling impatient. She was relieved to have caught sight of Jim earlier that day, he had been running up the street so fast that she had been unable to catch up with him. She was sure that she would find him again but had misgivings about the girls.
‘I must go out and find them, ask around to see if anyone has seen them.’ She quickly pulled on her boots and tied the laces and grabbed her shawl. By now, her concern had turned into worry and anxiety, she feared for the girls. They had been locked out and were vulnerable. Surely, they would all be hungry by now and should have been well back. Sally couldn’t afford to feed all three of them, but today, she had bread, cheese and milk ready for them.
Now out in the street, she set off in the direction of Minnie Ryan’s house. Minnie was Florrie’s mother, the four year old girl that Jim occasionally played out with. She didn’t know Minnie very well at all, she had only lived in the street for a short time and had kept herself to herself. It was a mystery why she had come to live here in the first place. Sally had heard some ‘cock and bull’ story about her becoming widowed before she moved here with her brother. His name was on the rent book, he then suddenly disappeared. Minnie told everyone that he went to sea. It was strange that he hadn’t returned in two years and local gossips were certain that he was her fancy man. Minnie claimed that she was married to Albert Ryan, she had told everyone that he had died of consumption. She was previously unknown in the neighbourhood and nobody knew what her maiden name was.
There was something about Minnie Ryan that didn’t add up. Sally had no idea why, but she couldn’t take to the woman. There was something about her that she didn’t like but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Not that she was a drinker, she appeared to be a respectable widow with a job in the laundry. Her step was always well scrubbed and her lace curtains were as white as snow. Her little daughter Florrie, although a bit of a tomboy, was always well turned out. She had never been seen without shoes.
Sally was now at the front door of number 67, it was wide open. Sally didn’t like houses with the door left open all day. ‘Tells me something that.’ She thought that houses run like a ‘free for all’ were not respectable.
‘Are you there Minnie?’ Called Sally through the open door. Despite being sixty years old, Sally was in robust health. Unlike most women of her age the brisk walk up the street hadn’t left her short of breath.
The dark haired woman who came to the door couldn’t have been quite thirty. Although it wasn’t at all uncommon, Minnie was young to be a widow. Sally guessed that she couldn’t have been married long as she would have had more children. She came here when Florrie was just two years old.
‘What is it Sally?’ She asked quizzically, although she knew full well that there was trouble in the air. Jim had told her that his father was going to be locked up in jail. Everyone knew it was the court hearing today and the outcome was unlikely to be good.
‘Has young Jim been here?’
‘He has, as a matter of fact, he came running here all upset. He said that his sisters had gone up the street with a ginger haired young woman. She took them by the hand, for some reason Jim was afraid to go with them. He was confused and scared, he then ran away through the courts and came in here through the back way.’
‘Where is he now?’
‘He’s playing out with our Florrie. Would you like to come in Mrs. Walsh?’
‘No thank you. There’s a court order for Dr. Barnado Homes to take the children, they look after orphaned children. Two women came to the house looking for them and they came over to speak to me.’ Sally told her that soon she would be adopting Jim.
‘I am so relieved Mrs. Walsh. If I see the girls I will tell you, I’ll ask all the neighbours to keep their eyes peeled for them. I reckon Jim will go to your house later, no doubt he’ll be starving. There’s no dinner here for him, have enough trouble feeding ourselves.’ She then added, ‘Jim will tell you all about the young woman, he said she was nicely turned out, but funny things have been happening ‘round ‘ere. I’ll have to keep an eye on our Florrie when she’s older, young girls go missing.’
Sally had no idea why but she couldn’t take to Minnie. She was perfectly polite but at the same time sounded insincere. Her words were right, but her hard faced expression made her appear dispassionate. But Sally thanked her all the same.
On the way back to her house, Sally bumped into two of the neighbours. ‘Have you seen Rachel and Ruby?’
‘Funny you should ask but we saw the two of them walking up the street holding hands with a snooty looking girl. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen might have been younger, never seen her ‘round ‘ere before.’
‘And what did she look like, this girl who took them?’
‘She had ginger hair, freckles, nice clothes, I remember she had bright green eyes, she was looking us up and down as though we were beneath her notice.’
‘I’d say she looked well off too, quality.’ Added the other neighbour. It dawned on Sally that Jim’s tale was true, a ginger haired girl or young woman had taken the sisters. She now wondered if they had been lured to a brothel. She knew that lots of whores could appear perfectly respectable and they certainly had money to buy good clothes.
‘For God’s sake they are only eleven and twelve years of age.’ Said Sally. One of the women shrugged.
‘You don’t think they’ve been snatched by a whore house madam do you?’ Sally was furious and couldn’t bring herself to answer them. The look on her face said it all, she couldn’t believe they were being so flippant. Deep in thought, she then walked off towards her house where she found Jim sitting on her door step.
‘Can’t get any answer, Ma hasn’t come back and I know me Pa’s gone to jail, all me sisters have gone. I just didn’t want to leave Florrie, I didn’t want to go with them.’ Said Jim with panic in his voice.
Sally took him in and he told her everything, all about the mysterious girl. He told her she was well spoken and had said they were in danger. Sally couldn’t fathom how he knew that his parents were not coming back. Later that evening she gave him a bath then told him that he would be able to stay with her. She was forced to tell him that it was true, his Ma and Pa would not be coming back. For the first time in his young life Jim felt safe.
Sally had a strong feeling that Betsy had something to do with the girls’ disappearance. Everyone knew about Betsy Hale. She was notorious and was hated by all in the neighbourhood. Tomorrow, she would tell the Barnado’s women all about it.