An Orphan's Journey

by Rosie Goodwin

  Pearl was only too happy to oblige, and while she was waiting for the kettle to boil on the small stove she peeped out into the yard and was pleased to see that it was a fair size with a little coal house and an outside toilet. There was a tin bath hanging on a nail in the wall and the yard was full of empty boxes and rubbish, but already she was picturing it in the summer when it would be swept clean and have tubs of geraniums scattered about.

  Once the tea was made, she placed a cosy over the teapot and carried it back upstairs on a tray.

  ‘Now, I’m not going to lie to you,’ Mrs Wilkinson said as Pearl poured the tea into two pretty rose-patterned china cups and saucers. ‘Business hasn’t been as brisk as it used to be just lately, but that’s only because I haven’t been able to keep the shop properly stocked up. What I’d advise you is take note of what your customers ask for and don’t stock anything too expensive. You have to remember this is a market town, so the majority of your customers will be farmers’ wives and working-class women who make their own clothes. It might be worth stocking some bolts of reasonably priced material as well to see how that sells. I always intended to do that but never got around to it.’

  ‘I’ll do that,’ Pearl promised, glad of any advice she could get. They chatted about the area for a little while, and then arranged a day for Mrs Wilkinson to move out.

  ‘I shall only need a day to pack my personal things,’ she told Pearl. ‘And providing my solicitor can get everything signed and sealed I could catch the train to Bournemouth on Friday. Or is that too soon for you, dear?’

  ‘Oh no, not at all, that would suit me just fine,’ Pearl assured her and smiled as she thought of Amy’s face when she met her on Sunday and brought her back here.

  ‘In that case, come back tomorrow afternoon and hopefully I should have the papers all ready for you.’

  ‘Thank you, I’ll be here,’ Pearl promised and she almost floated back to the hotel in a fog of happiness. It was now Tuesday, which meant that if all went well, she would only be sleeping for three more nights at the hotel before moving into her very own home. It was an exciting thought.

  The following day, as arranged, Pearl signed the paperwork that Mrs Wilkinson’s solicitor had prepared and he shook her hand.

  ‘If you would care to come and pay the agreed price at ten o’clock on Friday morning, I will then hand you the keys to your new property, and may I congratulate you, Miss Parker. I’m sure you will make your new venture a huge success.’

  ‘Thank you, sir.’ Pearl blushed prettily as she stepped out into the market and began to stroll amongst the stalls, wishing the time away until Friday rolled around. She so wanted to tell Amy the good news, but somehow she was going to have to contain her excitement until Sunday.

  During the night on Thursday it began to snow, and Pearl awoke to a white world that made the streets and roofs glisten like diamonds. She had her breakfast and paid her bill, then set off for the solicitor’s. Once the money for the business had duly changed hands, she was given the keys and she made her way to her new home, pausing outside to study it. She had to admit that the frontage looked in a sorry state, but the night before when she had called in to say goodbye to Mrs Wilkinson, who would already be on the train and heading towards her new life in Bournemouth, the dear old soul had given her the number of a reliable odd-job man, so Pearl was confident that if there were any jobs that she couldn’t tackle herself she would have someone to help out.

  Once inside and with the closed sign on the door, she made her way upstairs and was pleased to find that a few glowing embers were still alive in the grate. Hastily she threw some nuggets of coal on to the fire and wandered about. True to her word, the old lady had left every stick of furniture for her, and although the wing chairs and the curtains were somewhat faded, she was pleased to discover that the mahogany sideboard and the dresser were actually very sturdy and just needed a good clean and polish. From there she wandered into the bedroom and again she was pleased to find that the chest of drawers and the wardrobe were of good quality. She realised, though, that she must concentrate her efforts on downstairs first so that she could reopen the shop, and so back down she went, to decide where she should start.

  Beneath the counter were countless small drawers to accommodate the buttons and cotton reels but they had become mixed up and there was no order to them at all. With a smile she rolled her sleeves up and went into the small kitchen to put the kettle on for some hot water, and soon after she was scrubbing the floors as if her life depended on it. She then went out to purchase some paint for the front door and some limewash for the inner walls along with some new bedding. She also did some food shopping and, by the end of the day, her efforts were beginning to pay off. She had emptied everything out of the front window and scrubbed the glass until it shone and the display shelves sparkled. She would have liked to tackle the walls next but realised with a yawn that it was very late and as yet she hadn’t eaten. Never mind, Rome wasn’t built in a day, she told herself, and wearily went upstairs to spend the first night in her new little home.

  On Sunday she could hardly wait to meet Amy and when she saw her sister swinging towards her, she hurried to greet her.

  ‘You’ll never guess what I’ve done.’ She grinned as she slipped her arm through Amy’s. ‘I went to see Mrs Wilkinson and I’ve bought the shop from her!’

  ‘You’ve what?’ Amy was astounded but delighted for her. ‘Why, that’s wonderful. When are you moving in?’

  ‘I already have. That’s where we’re going now and I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been doing.’ They hurried on through the snow, and once they arrived at the shopfront and Pearl unlocked the door, Amy stared around in amazement.

  ‘Crikey, someone’s been busy. It looks so clean and fresh!’

  Pearl nodded. ‘I certainly have. I only have that wall there left to paint and then once I’ve restocked, I shall be ready to open. There’s still a lot to do upstairs, mind, but that will have to wait and be done when the shop isn’t open. I want to make a go of this, Amy, and I’m sure I can if I work hard enough.’

  ‘I’m sure you will.’ Amy was very impressed, even more so when Pearl showed her the living quarters upstairs.

  ‘I was thinking that if I did make a success of things you might be able to come and help and live here in time – but only if you want to, of course. It would be a bit of a squeeze, admittedly, and we’d have to share the double bed, but it wouldn’t be the first time, would it?’

  Amy shook her head as she thought back to the squalid living conditions they’d been brought up in in London. Small this place might be, but it was a palace compared to that.

  ‘I’d love us to be properly together again,’ she admitted with a catch in her voice. ‘Not that I’m not ’appy where I am, you understand? The mistress is fair and we never go short of decent food and a clean bed, but it isn’t the same as being with family.’

  ‘Then that’s what we’ll aim for,’ Pearl declared and leaving Amy to have a good look around she went off to put the kettle on, feeling as proud as Punch!

  They sat for a time chatting and catching up on all the years they had been apart, although Pearl was careful not to mention any of the people she had loved and lost. It was still far too painful. But then once they had drunk their tea, Amy rolled her sleeves up and declared, ‘There’s no point in sitting here when there’s work waiting to be done. Lend me an apron to cover me dress an’ we’ll go down an’ tackle that last wall in the shop. We should get it done between us if we stick in now before I have to go back. We can chat down there just as well as up here.’

  Pearl felt guilty. ‘But it’s your afternoon off. Wouldn’t you rather put your feet up and rest?’

  ‘There’ll be time aplenty fer that when I’m old an’ grey. Now where’s that apron?’

  And so for the rest of the afternoon, armed with paint brushes, they worked side by side and as darkness fell, the job was done. ‘I reckon you’ll ’ave to wait
till the weather improves a bit afore yer try to paint the front door,’ Amy said sensibly. ‘We’ll ’ave to just give it a good rub and a scrub fer now, eh?’ Just like her sister, she was keen to see results when she set her mind to something and as well as tackling the door, she also cleaned the outside of the shop window, even though she was up to her ankles in snow.

  ‘There then!’ She smiled with satisfaction as she surveyed their afternoon’s work. ‘I reckon you can start to get the shelves stocked up now and then you’ll be all ready to go. By the time I come back next Sunday, you could well be open.’

  Amy was right, and the following Friday, just a week after moving in, Pearl turned the sign on the door to open and the first few customers began to trickle in. She had taken Mrs Wilkinson’s advice and purchased some bolts of good, serviceable but inexpensive material, and to her joy it was selling like hot cakes, particularly to the farmers’ wives who went more for serviceability than fashion. Admittedly, Pearl realised, before she went into profit, she would have to get back all the money she had spent on stock, but the signs were promising and she had every hope that the shop would be a success.

  She wrote to Mrs Forbes to tell her of her new address, for she was longing to hear how Mathilda was. Even though almost every hour of her day was busily occupied, Pearl still thought of the child constantly and when she saw a mother with a baby of a similar age to Mathilda, it was like a knife in her heart. Thoughts of Nick were still painful too but she doggedly went on with what she was doing, determined to make a new life for herself and her one remaining sister.

  She had chosen her path and now she must stick to it.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  December 1881

  A

  lmost exactly a year to the day Pearl had taken possession of the shop, Amy left her employment in Swan Lane and joined her. The shop had proved to be a huge success and Pearl was now confident that it was earning enough to keep both of them comfortably, even after paying Amy a modest wage. As neither of them knew the exact date of their birthday, they each decided that they would settle on the middle of the month they were born in and so, on the day Amy moved in, they celebrated Pearl’s birthday with an iced cake that Amy had bought for her from the baker just along the street.

  ‘I can’t believe you’re nineteen,’ Amy giggled. ‘And still no sign of a young man. You’ll end up an old maid if you don’t get your skates on.’

  A cloud passed across Pearl’s face as a picture of Nick flashed in front of her eyes, but she quickly forced a smile again as she told her sister, ‘I’m quite happy as I am, thank you very much. I have you and my shop – what more could I want?’

  ‘Ah, but I won’t always be here, will I?’ Amy had a dreamy look in her eye. She had recently met the son of one of the local farmers and from what Pearl could see they seemed to be quite taken with each other. It could be that Amy would be living with her for only a short time if their relationship did develop, but she didn’t begrudge Amy her happiness. Robert Chetwynd was a nice young man and she just wanted to see her sister happy. Meantime, Amy being there was going to make her life a lot easier. From now on she would be able to leave Amy in charge of the shop while she went off to buy stock, and it meant that she wouldn’t have to work six full days a week with no help. ‘Anyway, happy birthday.’

  Amy’s voice brought her sister’s thoughts back to the present and she smiled. Over the last year, Mrs Forbes had been as good as her word and she had received three letters from her telling her all about Mathilda’s progress. Pearl now knew the date she had cut her first tooth, that she was able to say ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ and the last letter had informed her that she was now crawling and pulling herself up the furniture. We expect her to take her first steps any day now, Mrs Forbes had written, and she really is into everything, although we wouldn’t change a hair on her head. She really is such a sweet child and the whole household adore her.

  They were all such milestones in a child’s life and Pearl was sad that she hadn’t been with her to share them; and yet she still felt that she had done the right thing. Susan had also written to tell Pearl that she was now mother to a bouncing baby boy, and Pearl was pleased that her friend seemed so happy and content.

  Amy had once read one of the letters that Pearl had left on the table upstairs and had commented, ‘Ain’t it a bit strange for your former employer to go on about ’er baby daughter to you?’

  Pearl had felt her colour rise but she had remained calm as she answered, ‘Why should it be? I was still living there when Mathilda was born, so it’s nice to hear how she’s coming along.’

  ‘Hm, I suppose so,’ Amy had said and thankfully the subject had been dropped; but Pearl promised herself that she would make sure she put the letters away in future.

  ‘I was wondering,’ Amy said hesitantly, after she had gobbled down two slices of cake, ‘whether you would mind very much once I’ve settled in if I went out a couple of nights a week?’

  Pearl eyed her with amusement. ‘Not at all but would this have anything to do with a certain young man?’

  Amy’s face was as red as a beetroot. ‘Well, actually Rob ’as asked me if he could take me out. But I won’t go if yer don’t want me to.’

  ‘Of course you should go,’ Pearl told her good-naturedly. ‘Just so long as you behave in a ladylike manner.’

  Amy tittered. ‘Ooh our Pearl, even Ma would never ’ave said that. But don’t worry, I ain’t daft. No chap will ’ave ’is way wi’ me till there’s a ring on me finger.’

  ‘I’m pleased to hear it, but now don’t you think you should put your things away? I’ve left half the wardrobe space for you and the bottom two drawers in the chest are empty. Will that be enough room for you?’

  ‘More than enough,’ Amy assured her, and she went to do as she was told while Pearl took the pots down to the kitchen to wash them.

  Soon the two girls had settled into a routine and Pearl enjoyed having someone to talk to again. Her days had always been busy, but until Amy had moved in the nights had sometimes felt very long and lonely. Within a very short time of her being there, however, Amy began to go out two nights a week and every Sunday afternoon to see Robert, and by the end of January she shyly told Pearl, ‘Rob ’as asked me if I’ll officially be ’is girl an’ ’e’s asked me if I’d like to go to ’is parents farm with ’im fer tea next Sunday. What do yer think, Pearl?’

  ‘I think if you like him and it’s what you want, you should do it,’ Pearl told her.

  It was a clear as the nose on Amy’s face that she was besotted with him, and Pearl was pleased that she’d met someone nice, although she did realise that this might mean she was going to be all on her own again at some time in the future. ‘And you should invite him here for tea as well,’ she went on. ‘I’d like to meet him properly and get to know him.’

  ‘Hm, I wonder if I could get that dress I’ve been sewin’ done in time for Sunday?’ Amy mused.

  Pearl laughed. She could take a hint, especially one as big as a house brick. ‘I’m sure you could if I help you with it,’ she said obligingly, and so every spare minute they had for the rest of the week was spent working on the new gown.

  It was finally finished late on Saturday evening and after Amy had tried it on and given a twirl, Pearl had to admit that she looked beautiful in it. The material was a very fine soft-green wool that showed off Amy’s eyes to perfection, and although the style was simple it looked classy and elegant.

  ‘You can borrow my navy cloak and my blue bonnet to wear with it,’ Pearl offered.

  Amy could scarcely wait for the next day to arrive. Robert was bringing the horse and cart to take her to his family’s farm on the outskirts of Attleborough at three o’clock, but long before then Amy was ready and watching anxiously from the upstairs window for him.

  ‘What if something ’appens an’ ’e can’t come,’ she fretted.

  Pearl tutted as she looked up from the newspaper she was reading. She bought
one every day now and loved reading about world events. ‘Will you please stop looking for problems where there are none? If he said he’ll be here then he will.’

  And sure enough, shortly before three o’clock they heard the rattle of the cart’s wheels on the cobblestones outside and there was Rob, all done up in his Sunday best suit.

  ‘Are yer really sure I look all right?’ Amy asked for at least the tenth time, and in that moment, she looked so like Eliza that a lump formed in Pearl’s throat and she had to blink back tears. ‘You look absolutely lovely. Now just go and enjoy yourself.’ She hastily adjusted the ribbons of the bonnet beneath Amy’s chin and nudged her towards the door. Then, hurrying to the window, she watched as she climbed up on to the cart beside Rob and they drew away, chatting nineteen to the dozen.

  When Amy got home later that evening her face was glowing. ‘Rob’s ma an’ dad made me so welcome,’ she gushed, and within minutes she had told Pearl all about what they had had for tea and how wonderful the farm was. ‘There’s a little cottage set back from the main house,’ she told Pearl, blushing prettily. ‘And Rob’s ma told me that one day when Rob gets married that’s where he and his wife will live.’

  The following Sunday Rob came to their little rooms above the shop to have tea there and Pearl had to admit that he did seem a very nice young man. With his shock of curly dark hair and his vivid blue eyes, he was undeniably good-looking and hard-working, and she knew that Amy had chosen wisely.

  The weeks passed quickly, and before they knew it they were into spring again and the long cold winter was becoming just a distant memory. The tiny yard was transformed into a riot of colour by pots full of gaily coloured gera-niums and chrysanthemums, and now that she had more time Pearl had whitewashed the living quarters and sewn some flowered curtains for the windows. The old wing chairs now sported pretty cushions, gay peg rugs were scattered across the floors and the furniture was polished until Pearl could see her face in it.