Dear Readers,
I know it has been entirely too long since this story was updated - my sincere apologies to you! These past four months have proved to be the most hectic of my life, and I now look forward to much quiet time in which I can make lots of progress with this story. If there is still an interest in it out there, it will be updated rapidly!
I'd like to sincerely thank both bookfaerie and Bad Octopus - you two have been my driving force, and I cannot thank you enough!
I don't know if this will be of interest to anyone, and if it isn't please humor me, but if I were to give this chapter a title, it would most assuredly be "Two Proselytes."
I hope you enjoy! I look forward to seeing you very soon!
Always,
Margo
Within Terminus Pointe, Saffney Jain had commenced upon a fated peregrination much like her custodian's own. This young woman, too, remained utterly unaware of such happenings as she vanquished the lid of her ebony box from its unfaltering position, exposing her repository of gentle secrets. Indubitably, Concordia Bottomley and her protégé were so similar that the young girl might have sprung from the altruist's own blood. Indubitably, Concordia Bottomley had seen it fit to instill the finer arts of life in Saffney's young mind. Thus it was no surprise that once inculcated to take solace in silent perspicacity, the outlandish ward sustained a great many emotions through this medium, those sentiments that could neither be contained within the heart nor set free to the world without injurious consequences. Much as the pariah Concordia Bottomley had done before her, Saffney Jain had come to explore and prevail over the territory between the human heart and the society it must exist within. On the reliquary's very first captive was her mistress's habitual sound advice written.
I know well the obstacles you have endured through your transposition from one sordid way of life to another that surely is not without faults. The trials you must yet cope with will no doubt be commensurate to all you have thusly weathered. There will be times when you feel as though you are not equipped to hold a position of your own within this world, times when there is much you must say and hear but are unable to do either. Those are the times at which I hope you will return to this chest and record those things which must be disclosed somewhere; and, perhaps you will reread this note and recall that every blow your crux accepts likewise registers in my own, and that the love I retain for you has carried both of us across the seas many times, though it never could be saturated.
Occluding her confidences once again from the gleaming light of day, Saffney bowed her head in thought while her golden fingers drifted across the sleek lid. She lifted her eyes toward the egress after a moment, and soon beheld the figure of little Elise. From the bright flicker in the girl's eyes, Saffney was able to deduce the purport of her manifestation.
"I'll be right down, Elise," she assured the maid with a companionable smile. She nudged the pointed brass fastening of the varnished chest shut. The ornament likewise having prodded Saffney's intrusive finger in admonishment of her imposition, she relinquished her extended arm from the tenebrous receptacle. With a delicate stoop was the young heart's annex replaced beneath the silken skirts of the bed and rising, Saffney Jain glissaded through the corridor and down the staircase.
The figures that stood within the capacity of the anteroom burnished the honeyed face with a flagrant smile, for present there was her mistress, accompanied by a very dear friend of them both.
"Aha! There's our lotus, burgeoning wif a little more loveliness every day!" Exclaimed Inspector Bucket as he advanced toward the girl. She beamed with gratification as the affectionate gentleman inclined his head of rampant black locks to kiss her. "Surely she must be done growing, Miss Bottomley, for I don't see how it's a'tol possible that she can get any lovelier!" He declared, escorting his dear stripling to the settee.
Concordia Bottomley, who had assumed a position across the low marble table, assented in her symptomatically hoarse tone. "She is the perfect lady in my eyes, Mr. Bucket, but she continues to improve perfection. She is quite a wonder to me."
In an attempt to alleviate Miss Jain's already warm face from the excess crimson that pervaded her cheeks, the wry detective offered, "You see, my little lotus, we two 'ave been 'ere discussing the circumstances regarding your mistress' s redemption. And once again, you were absolutely right in your conjectures. A guardian angel was certainly out on the streets that terrible night."
"Mr.. Bucket has been so kind, Saffney," Concordia continued, "as to tell me of her, and where I may find her. I intend to call upon her at her accommodations today, and see her back to Terminus Pointe."
Saffney gnawed at her burgundy lip upon hearing this proposition. The idiosyncrasy did not escape the keen perception of her favored investigator.
"I assure you she is a good woman, Miss Jain. She exists in a most impoverished state, but she's a very good soul."
The afternoon light caused Saffney's inky hair to glimmer as it diffracted off her shaking head. "I do not doubt that at all, Inspector. To me she is one of the dearest women in the world for all she has so magnanimously given to me."
"Then?" He coaxed her softly, expecting a great deal of intuition behind the young lady's reluctance. He offered an askant smile, and the little lotus opened freely to the warmth of his encouragement.
"With all due respect to Miss Bottomley, I feel that I should be the one to entreat the dear woman for a visit in place of my mistress. I worry that she is not yet recovered enough to spend much time afoot, and I doubt very much whether anyone could find my limited person very intimidating. Regardless, should it be decided that I am equal to the task, I sincerely volunteer my services if they may be at all useful."
Inspector Bucket chuckled, and stroking Saffney's perfect hand turned to Concordia Bottomley. "Well, you were quite right, Miss Bottomley," he acceded. "She is quite a wonder. May I take it for granted that you agree with Miss Jain's proposition to the extent that I do?"
The matriarch glanced inquisitively between the pair and smiled, relieving her ward's mind a great deal when it became apparent that her suggestion was not ill received. "We shall act on your sanction, Mr. Bucket." She declared before adding, "For you know much more of these matters than could be imagined."
The smirking inspector rose and bowed to the fair-haired woman. "Then upon your commission, I feel now is high time to seek out Jenny Shaw. So come, my lotus, and we shall do just that." Without further ado, Saffney accepted his hand and, rising from her seat, commenced her singular enterprise with a great flurry of eagerness.
Positioned within their cabriolet, pulled by the surest hackney in London, the busy streets began to slip away before them as the duo paced to Chancery Lane.
Observing the scenic view from the scant window, the image of his stoic young companion sitting prettily reflected in the corner of Inspector Bucket's eye.
"Y' know, you've got the civility of an old dame, Miss Jain," He extended in raillery. "You might be sixty years old for how you act, but you don't look it. Thirty-five perhaps? Thirty?"
Saffney simpered. "Sixteen, sir. I shall be seventeen in a few months' time."
Keeping up his sportiveness, her chaperone feigned momentary shock. "Well, my dear, I suppose that is plenty old enough for you to understand our situation, and you being such a great confidant only makes the task easier.
"You see, this Jenny has had as miserable a life as you can imagine. She came from the country – I'm not sure if you'll be familiar with the location, but a place called Saint Albans in Hertfordshire. I don't believe she ever received any sort of education. She married as a young girl, very close to your own age I'd imagine, to a very irascible man of the inebriated persuasion. She had many children, but none survived infancy. She's toiled at hard labor for years, and has bounced between the country and London many times trying to find a living somewhere. She's called the streets her home more often than not, which is how she found your dear mistress of course. But she's never done anything less than honest work, and she's never given less than her best effort.
After a moment of silence, the subdued young lady inquired, "How can we be sure to find her, Inspector? Is she expecting us?"
"I believe you can say that she does, my lotus. She was apt to return to Saint Albans after discovering Miss Bottomley, to try to find herself acceptable work there no doubt, but she has remained in London a bit longer, at the request of several of us in connection with this incident. She can be found with her cousin, who is maid to a law stationer who has beneficently allowed Jenny to remain with those days when we must speak to her.
"I doubt very much that Jenny has ever entered a home half so grand as Terminus Pointe, and so I feared that if Miss Bottomley sent for her directly, she would be too daunted by the proposal. But I believe that you accompanying me to see 'er first would put 'er much at ease, what with yer disposition being so very agreeable. From there, I will send you both back to Bond Street, an' I think you'll have a much better chance at a good interview. "
"You are so very good to all of us, Mr. Bucket," Saffney insisted, turning to face him better in the cramped cab. After a moment, her emerald eyes grew inflamed with the courage to scan his own with earnest. "I'm not sure where any of us would be without you."
"I thank you kindly, my dear. It's a dog of a job sometimes, I do admit, but to receive the esteem of the likes of you and your mistress keeps me in this infernal city, mulling about." His words took on an especial poignancy as the hackney horse slammed to a halt, lodged in the middle of a great charybdis of travelers. The young girl's peal of laughter filled the close quarters, and the destination seemed to be reached much sooner than either had imagined.
The fortitude Jenny had mustered during the commoving day all but departed from her as she canvassed the façade of Terminus Pointe. Discreetly craning her head, she followed the symmetrical pattern of bricks glowing vermilion in the evening brightness. Just as her eyes could climb no higher against the abuttal of her forehead, they absorbed the resplendent alabaster dormers that adorned the structure like the arches of a crown and the angle of elevation caused her stomach to lurch.
In the subsequent, epiphanous moment Jenny Shaw inwardly denounced herself as a fool. The olive French twill dress with its glimmering buttons down the front that she had been so proud of borrowing from her cousin Guster suddenly appeared bedraggled in that drastic light. Even the immoderate amount of sponging she had forced herself to execute that morning in her cousin's little room at the law stationer's inn seemed to have done little for her rough complexion. Feeling nauseous at what events the next few moments would procure, when Jenny would enter the grand house and meet its mistress, she grappled in her mind for some means of escape.
But all that she was able to procure proved to be the words Inspector Bucket had ultimately imparted to her: "Don't be imprudent enough to resist Miss Bottomley's kindness. For saving a lady of her virtue, you've more than earned it. Miss Bottomley is such a woman as that would offer you her world even if you 'ad been the very one that slit her throat." With that, he had handed her into the cabriolet in his stead and disappeared amidst the labyrinth of the city's enigmas.
Jenny gulped at the recollection, but had no further opportunity for cogitation. The pretty Miss Jain who had been sent to accompany her alighted from the vehicle and appeared at her elbow. This young girl by turns proved to be the most bemusing creature that Jenny had ever seen. Her singular bronze tones attracted the eye so accustomed to the pallid masses. Her beauty was such that once one ventured to gaze upon her discomfiture should immediately beset the observer, and yet her cheery vitality could endear her to seemingly anyone. Miss Jain appeared ethereal, and yet Jenny could not doubt her sincerity.
Powerless to do otherwise, Jenny allowed herself to follow her young companion through the doors of the great abode. As Miss Jain navigated the way, the woman was able to discern the beauty of her surroundings - the sparkling mahogany and burnished silver and brass that seemed to comprise all the fixtures, the oil paintings and books strewn about - but the complete breadth of Terminus Pointe's exquisiteness could not register in her mind. It was a place Jenny was aware that she did not belong within nor have claims upon, but nonetheless the splendor did not chill her as she had anticipated it would. She concluded that the situation was too phantasmic to be subsumed with her experiences or affections.
So lost was Jenny Shaw in this void that she almost did not hear the young lady beside her question, "Would you like me to accompany you further?"
Comprehending these words, the poor woman realized they had stopped outside a particular doorway. "No thank you," Jenny responded, shocking herself with the words that she expressed. "You have been such a comfort to me, but I s'pose I can manage."
Miss Jain offered one of her distinctive simpers in acquiescence before allowing her a few moments alone with Concordia Bottomley.
"No, please don't get up!" Jenny insisted, scudding as gracefully as possible to the davenport where Concordia Bottomley had been seated. There the movement of both women ceased as their eyes met equally for the first time.
The tawny visage of the great lady shielded by the high collar of her dress began to drift from Jenny's range of view before the young woman realized that she was dropping to the tapestry of the seat. In her matronly way, Concordia Bottomley ensconced herself beside her redeemer, and placing her cane in her opposite hand, soon found her fingers laced between her guest's. In this window of time, Jenny Shaw managed to formulate just one thought: if she had considered Miss Jain to be mystical, the presence of Concordia Bottomley proved to be twice as otherworldly.
"You must forgive me, my lady," Jenny implored with her head bowed. "My thoughts – everything - seems to have disappeared from my mind. I am overwhelmed to see you so improved."
The mistress of Terminus Pointe tittered what pleasing inflections her throat would allow. Drawing her own blonde locks low, she gazed into the face of the one who possessed her deepest appreciation. "Do you suppose my feelings to be so far removed from your own?" They both beamed at this, and Jenny allowed herself to behold the face of Concordia Bottomley more fully than before. She noted the attenuated manner in which her cheeks hung about her cheekbones, but upon allowing herself to meet the amber orbs that sat above them, she was much relieved to observe their vibrancy.
"You were so badly injured," Jenny croaked. "I was worried you'd be dead before Mr. Woodcourt could help you. They've told me all 'at you had to suffer."
The matron smiled wistfully. "I'll live," she whispered, clutching the girl's hand reassuringly. At this, Jenny watched as those glass orbs filled with tears and became aware of the droplets accumulating in her own.
Concordia scoffed at herself. "You must forgive me, Miss Shaw. I simply cannot maintain the proper stoicism. I never was a very good society lady."
"Surely I don't mind, ma'am," Jenny responded, a bit awestruck. "To be sure, it's I as don't belong in a place so grand as this."
In an instant, Concordia tactfully caught her visitor by the shoulders and assuaged her trenchant reservations. "Please don't say such a thing. You've as much right to be here as have I, if not more. And I am only so glad that after all these weeks I have finally found you, and that I am able to give you my utmost gratitude.
Jenny could not help but smile, though she shook her head in response. "No, ma'am. It isn't necessary. You had no need to find me. I never expected anything to come of this, that's not why I did what I did."
The older woman drew in closer, "No, you couldn't have, could you? But so very much has come of this. I don't believe I could ever bestow upon you everything you have given to me, and to Saffney, but I beg you not to think for a moment that I could ever discount you so easily."
Slowly did Jenny's lassitude begin to slip through the cracks of the euphoria the atmosphere had created, and maintaining poise within the situation became more difficult despite all Inspector Bucket had advised her of.
"I fear, ma'am, that discounting me might be the best thing you can do. Surely I am not of the same rank of yourself and Miss Jain. I don't want you to be burdened with a sense of obligation to me. Your kindness in seeing me here is honor enough, and of course to see you mending so well."
Concordia brought the girl even closer, for it seemed as though the more acerbic her expressions became, the nearer she allowed herself to be drawn to the lady.
"Don't let this house fool you," she murmured, rubbing the coarse sleeve that hung on Jenny's arm. "We are not what you anticipate us to be, or what the rest of society wishes we were. I am just come back from over a decade spent in India, serving as doctor to the ladies there.
"I met a woman there who wished to discard her tiny child. Saffney has remained in my care ever since, though we have been apart for the many years she's been away to school."
Jenny looked up from her position in Concordia Bottomley's arms, it now becoming much easier to gaze upon her face. ""Miss Jain?" She interrogated. "How terrible," she conceded, tears springing to her eyes anew. "I had a daughter once, and sons. But I lost them all. None of them remained for very long. P'rhaps it's better off that way. But what I wouldn't give to have 'em back! Even my husband, wretched as he was.
"I don't know why it is I carried you off that night, Miss Bottomley. Truly I don't. Of course I couldn't leave you there, but I never understood my first impulse. Maybe now I do. Maybe I worried that someday that person laying there would be me. Maybe now I understand that I wanted to save you from my fate, that I couldn't let you go alone – like me!"
These last few words were delivered amidst heavy gasps for breath as what equanimity Jenny Shaw had taken hold of departed in a rush of lamentation.
If the impoverished widow had been told that one day she would find herself embraced by a woman worth thirty thousand pounds, she never would have believed it. If she had been told that the same woman truly commiserated with her and detected a value within her heart that amounted to more than the penniless drifter she was, she would have considered her soothsayer to be mad. But in that preponderant moment, Jenny was willing to believe anything was possible as she kept her arms enfolded around the woman who the world had left for dead.
"You shall never be alone again," Concordia whispered into Jenny's ear, as a few strands of the woman's yellow hair dashed against her lips. "You were not meant to be. I have come to learn that finding yourself in an inexplicable situation suggests a necessity that you must substantiate."
"Do you know what yours is?" She asked.
Concordia Bottomley's eyes grew distant before she replying, "Yes." Quickly she refocused to the matter at hand, and shifted both herself and her friend to a more comfortable position. "What do you want," she began slowly, "more than anything in the world? What have you always longed for? Please, do not be afraid to disclose it to me. My wants have been more ludicrous than ever you could imagine."
Jenny needed very little time to reveal her desire, for talking to the great lady proved to be one of the easiest acts she had ever completed in her hard and squalid life. "I never thought I wanted very much, but perhaps I do. All I ever wanted was to have some little purpose here. To care for someone, to be a companion to them. I tried so hard to be a good wife to my husband, but I suppose it wasn't enough. He drank far too much, and cared far too little about everything else. Of course I wanted to be a mother more than anything else, but it was not meant to be."
Concordia Bottomley took Jenny's hand again, "Perhaps not in the way you anticipated." She continued to stroke the girl's fingers as Jenny looked on in curiosity. "Suppose," she resumed at last, "suppose you were to stay with us – Saffney and I – for a time. Suppose you took some time to recuperate from all that has happened so recently."
"But ma'am," Jenny softly interrupted. "that wouldn't be right. I could not impose myself on you like that, though it is so hard an offer to refuse. I can't take what I don't earn."
"But you would," Concordia insisted in kind. "You could be a good learner here, in needlepoint or reading or whatever you would like to be taught. There's experience of all sorts all around us, I assure you. In time you'll be a formidable nursemaid and we can see you to a position somewhere."
For a moment, Jenny remained dumbstruck. "Do you really believe that's possible?"
Concordia smiled. "I should never have offered it if I believed otherwise. Do I have your assurance? Will you accept? You might find this place too lonely and leave us, I understand, but I see no other reason for you to fly from us."
Jenny grinned while internally she reeled from that same otherworldly feeling that had earlier pervaded her body. The proposal was all too good for her, of course she knew it; but when her life could not become any worse, she knew it was not the time to dig her own grave in the matter. Subsequently, she could find only three words to say. "I'll be honored."
A wave of relief washed over Concordia Bottomley as she at last relinquished Jenny Shaw's hand. She glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece and found herself grounded once again with the reading it offered her. "Of course you will join us for supper? Something mild, I am sure. I myself have not ventured far past broth in a good many weeks."
Jenny gave her assent, and the pangs of hunger she had often tried to relinquish were replaced by another feeling that caused a jolt within her. For as much as she had rescued Concordia Bottomley, they had truly rescued each other.
With the interview drawn to its conclusion, Saffney quickly rose from her position on the staircase and bounded silently back to her bedroom. A curvature inhabited her mouth for the entirety of the time she spent preparing for supper. Before alighting the staircase again, however, she paused momentarily to collect her sacred chest.
Pushing back the lid for the second time that day, she rummaged through all that it contained. In a moment, the feeling of silk wrapped itself around her fingers and she removed her palm from the interior. When she glanced at her hand again, it contained the item she had desired. There twisted gracefully was a luxurious strand of golden hair, the piece she had kept for herself when her guardian's tresses had been severed in order for Dr. Woodcourt to mend her wounds. Saffney raised it to her lips, where it remained for a long moment before she restored it to its resting-place. Before replacing the ebony case to its proper position for the final time that evening, Saffney perused once again her beloved's missive:
recall that every blow your crux accepts likewise registers in my own
At that moment did Saffney understand that the opposite was also true, for it could be only Concordia Bottomley's mirth that presently dwelled within her own heart. For anything she had ever lost in her young life, she decided, so much more had returned to her. Never could she foresee a day in which their kindred spirits would be severed.