Norton, Andre - Novel 39 (17 page)

 
          
 
But how did one go about finding clothing in
London
?

 
          
 
She needed advice. Now if Mr. Utterson had
only possessed a wife. But there was no way of appealing to any other
acquaintances, or any that pride would allow her. Miss Scrimshaw? Lady Ames?
Captain Ellison? Oh—Mrs. Kirby! The latter's elegance—or what had seemed so to
her at their meeting—was quiet, very much that of a lady, and suggested that
she had good taste and would have access to such aids as Hester needed, say,
the address of a seamstress. Not one of high fashion perhaps, but able to
understand the needs of a lady—or rather of an heiress who had no mind to shine
in any society, but needed garments befitting her new station.

 
          
 
Hester was still sorting through her clothing,
putting most of it in a discard pile to be passed along to Captain Ellison's
charities, when the sound of a gong summoned her to dinner.

 
          
 
She dined alone in state at the head of the
long dinner table, amazed at the variety of dishes offered her, unable to do
much more than nibble at a few of that wide array. Mrs. Dorset was undoubtedly
set upon impressing her new mistress with her process. However, the girl
determined that she would not be so burdened with formality again.

 
          
 
There was a tall can of hot water awaiting her
in her room. Hester settled into drowsy content by the fire, a tablet and
pencil in her hand, to make lists of what she must do in this new life, as far
as she could guess. However, she should go slowly, feel her way, as one walking
down an ill-lighted path. This all seemed very much of a dream.

 
          
 
It was not until the following afternoon that
she had Bradshaw call her a cab, and she had some trouble in maintaining her
independence then, since the ex-footman took it as a matter of course that she
would command his company. But she held to the firmness she had assumed that
morning when she had confronted Mrs. Dorset, taken over the tradesmen's books
(to the manifest displeasure of the ruler of the kitchen), and inspected for
herself not only that domain and the stores' cupboard, but gone over the linen
supplies with Hannah and agreed to the employment of a day woman for the
"rough,"

 
          
 
Hester had noted that the service quarters
gave upon a neglected back garden and a grim-looking courtyard. Across the
courtyard stood the building of ill repute that had been the center of
Utterson's story. The small building had another entrance on the bystreet, but
Utterson had assured her it was kept well locked, and Bradshaw bore him out, saying
it was not only securely locked but had been boarded up and there was no way
into the old laboratory save by way of the courtyard. Even so, she was glad
there was a sturdy manservant under the roof.

 
          
 
Hester looked forward to the coming of Sallie.
If she was to have a new wardrobe, she would need someone good with her needle.
Also, though most of the household washing was sent out, there must be a maid
to wash and iron the finer things. Hannah had stolidly said that such a duty
was not her place. And truly Hester did not want the severe-looking woman about
her. Hannah doubtless was a worthy female and a good worker, but in a house
that already seemed to have too many shadows, she was not a cheerful asset.

 
          
 
Hester had sent a note ahead to Mrs. Kirby via
the boy. Thinking of that now she frowned. Though she knew very little of
Ratsby, the boy, she had sensed something strange about him on his return with
Mrs. Kirby's reply. He had stared quite openly at her when he thought she was
not looking. Or was that only part of her unease with these servants with whom
she had so little contact?

 
          
 
Under Lady Ames's roof she had been neither
fish nor fowl, as the old saying went, perched as a governess most precariously
and unhappily between two states of being, that of a gentlewoman and that of a
servant. She was very much aware that all servants' quarters were hotbeds of
gossip, and they must certainly have much to say and speculate concerning her
right now. She would need all the allies she could assemble and she was
determined that Sallie must be one of them.

 
          
 
Once she was seated in Mrs. Kirby's cozy
sitting room and held a cup of freshly brewed and most acceptable tea in her
hand, she told of her inheritance. While she could not play lady bountiful to
the full of her desires, she was determined to aid all she could in the work
her hostess was carrying through. In proof of the matter she had handed Mrs.
Kirby an envelope containing five pounds, impulsively counted out of her first
month's allowance. The sum was exclaimed over with much thanks and the
assurance that it would go far to provide shelter for at least one more girl.

 
          
 
Still, when Hester outlined her own situation
and expressed her desire to hire Sallie, Mrs. Kirby's bright smile faded and
she looked quite distressed.

 
          
 
"I know that Sallie would be very happy
with you, my dear Miss—Jekyll." She stumbled a little over the name as if
still finding it difficult to believe in this sudden change. "However, she
has already been hired by the Donaldsons. It is only because they are presently
out of town that she is not right now under their roof. We work on the
apprentice principle with our girls—their term of service is laid down beforehand
and cannot be changed except for some grievous fault on their part, or some
reasonable alteration of plan on the part of their employer. I would most
gladly have seen her go to you. Dr. Jekyll was one of our patrons, as I may
have told you. He was most generous ..." Hester thought that she saw the
luminosity of tears in the other's eyes. "Your own interest and generosity
is of such benefit that I am very unhappy that I cannot send you Sallie."

 
          
 
Hester's disappointment was acute. From the
first she had taken a strong liking to the girl, and since she felt some
apprehension about a staff she did not altogether trust, she had looked forward
to having Sallie with her. But plainly Mrs. Kirby intended to abide by her
rules.

 
          
 
It was wise to change the subject. Hester
spoke frankly of her need to assemble a new wardrobe. At once Mrs. Kirby's
smile returned. She lifted both hands from her lap as if to applaud, a gesture
Hester would have thought too effusive from this very controlled woman.

 
          
 
"Now we have the very answer to your
problem, Miss Jekyll. When you visited us before, Bertha was not here. She came
to me two months ago but has been assisting Captain Ellison at the workroom.
She is sixteen, older than most of our girls, steady and reliable. When she was
eleven she was apprenticed to a dressmaker. I regret to say that this was a
shop with a reputation for fashion among those who do not care what goes on in
the back rooms of such an establishment. Bertha showed talent for the needle
and was quick to learn. Because her work was outstanding she was given more and
more to do. During the 'season' it was not unusual for her to work until
midnight
and rise at five the next morning to begin
again. She and her companions were poorly fed and allowed little rest.

 
          
 
"In addition"—now Mrs. Kirby's voice
fell a little and she looked away from Hester, as if what she had to say was
very unpleasant, almost unmentionable in company—"the establishment had
another and most evil side. Females, supposedly of standing in the world, used
it as cover for meeting— But Miss Jekyll, need I go further? All of us know
that in this day there is much that is morbid and even filthy hiding under
covers seemingly above suspicion.

 
          
 
"Unfortunately Bertha was brought into
the shop one day to do some fitting and caught the eye of a so-called gentleman
who was waiting for his wife/' Mrs. Kirby's lips tightened and her eyes flashed
. "
After this man had left, Bertha's mistress reported
to her that she was to be 'nice' to the gentleman on his next visit.

 
          
 
"When Bertha utterly refused, she was
made a prisoner, even beaten, finally turned into the street, where she was
found totally destitute by one of the Army followers who took her to Captain
Ellison, and so she came to me.

 
          
 
"She is quick and willing, neat about her
person, able to help with the work of the house, and most accomplished as a
needlewoman. She would, I believe, be most eager to come to you."

 
          
 
Thus it was that Hester left, not with Sallie
to whom she bade a regretful good-bye but to share the waiting cab with a
slender girl in a neat dress and an attractive bonnet, who seemed almost
tearfully willing to come on trial as a member of the house staff.

 
          
 
Though Bertha appeared at first very subdued,
inching back into one corner of the cab as they jolted away from Mrs. Kirby's,
she changed greatly as Hester spoke frankly of her need for an entire new
wardrobe, and as quickly as possible.

 
          
 
Bertha Tompkins came to life. The pallor of
her face showed the faint beginnings of a flush when Hester, smiling, said:
"Now, Bertha, as I am new to
London
you must tell me just where we are to
begin. Mrs. Kirby has been kind enough to give me the names of several shops,
and if these are not too out of our way, perhaps we might begin at this hour to
lay in what we may need."

 
          
 
"Oh, miss ..." Bertha breathed, her eyes
shining. "Oh, miss . . . yes! I know about patterns, and the places where

 
          
 
Madam Emilee bought things—they have the best.
I know the names of those who are in charge—and the proper prices, too!"
She nodded vigorously. "They needn't try any of their tricks. They have
sometimes two prices, Miss Jekyll, one for them as is mindful of what they
spend, and another for them as never looks at the bills carefullike."

 
          
 
So followed a breathless
couple of hours.
Hester, never in her life having been able to be
unmindful of what she spent, was dazzled by lengths of materials, spools of
ribbons, festoons of lace, baskets of flowers meant to bloom forever on dresses
or hats. But she trusted that she kept her countenance and did not show her
ignorance, and she was more than impressed by how deftly Bertha could manage to
point out the best selections.

 
          
 
To her surprise, their last stop—at a hat
shop—was in the street directly behind her new home, the old houses there
having been remodeled into a number of modish, small shops, their bowed windows
displaying fripperies enough to catch and hold any feminine eyes. When their
cab rounded the corner at last and they disembarked at the Jekyll house, it
required the services of both Bradshaw and Ratsby to unload the mound of boxes.
Hester introduced her companion, and suggested that Bertha go with Ratsby who
carried her own small battered box, to the other side of the baize-covered
servant's door. Hannah had been summoned to help with the packages, but when
Hester started to follow her up the stairs she was detained by Bradshaw.

 
          
 
"There is someone to see you, miss. He is
waiting in the consulting room." And the tone of the servant's voice
speedily reduced Hester from the euphoria of shopping to a state of
apprehension.

 
          
 
The consulting room was a small and very
darkish rear den off the hall that had not been used since Dr. Jekyll had given
up his active practice some years ago. The only light came from a window where
Bradshaw had drawn aside the drapery, and that opening looked out upon the
grimness of the courtyard shared by the laboratory. Standing foursquare at that
window was the broad-shouldered, beefy man whom she had last seen and instantly
disliked in Utterson's office. He was alone, and at the sound of the closing of
the door behind her, he swung around to face her fully. The set of his mouth
and jaw, the boring stare of his small eyes, brought her to a quick stop. She
could conceive of no reason why she must entertain a visit from Inspector
Newcomen.