Part 1 - 1913
To Freddie Thorne, the fact that little Clara Shelby had requested his help with a secret mission, whispering in his ear after supper and tugging him up from his chair to find a bit of privacy from the rest of the Shelbys, brought a prideful smirk to his lips.
"Don't you mind, Thomas," Clara said, her eyebrows furrowed as she tugged Freddie along when her older brother questioned the maneuver.
Tommy opened his mouth, ready to protest when Freddie spoke first, smirking. "The lady said don't you mind, Thomas."
Freddie followed after the girl, the five-year-old repeating the sentiment once more over her shoulder for good measure. It brought Tommy the slightest bit of annoyance, or maybe it was jealousy, but he stayed quiet as his best mate and best girl headed up the stairs without him.
Freddie leaned back against the door to the bedroom Clara shared with Finn. "So, what can I help you with, Miss Clara?"
"It's a secret," she said, whispering despite the closed door. "I can't tell you unless you promise to—"
Freddie smirked. "I'll keep your secret."
Clara nodded and handed him a flyer stowed in the pocket of her sweater. It advertised a board game, the tattered paper folded so many times it took him a moment to flatten out the creases to read it properly.
Clara had been at Rackham's with Ada when she saw the display, on a trip that took place nearly eight months ago now. She'd been looking at the advertisement and saving every coin she could collect ever since.
"I wanna buy it for them, for Christmas," Clara said as Freddie's eyes scanned the paper.
Freddie glanced up at her, a gentle snort coming out of him as he smiled. Clara Shelby was far more similar to her brother Thomas than people thought and the idea of a Shelby child going out of their way to buy something frivolous for the family, something like a top hat and a coconut, or in this case, a board game, was a bit nostalgic for Freddie. But he took comfort in the fact that unlike her brother, Clara wouldn't get beaten with a frying pan for thinking they all deserved a bit of joy, something more than what was truly needed.
Clara pointed at the paper. "It says it's 'new and fa-fass-faa–"
"Fascinating," Freddie offered.
"Fas-cin-at-ing," she repeated, her mouth careful of each individual syllable. "A game for old and young alike," she said.
A game for old and young alike. The notion echoed in Freddie's head. It was also a game that railed against the evils of capitalism, a game meant to warn the lower classes of society against the dangers of capitalism, a game to demonstrate how rents impoverished tenants and enriched stodgy property owners. Freddie only thought those sentiments to himself, another smirk coming to his lips as he imagined his best mate unwrapping such a gift from his unassuming little sister.
"And Aunt Polly and Arthur and Tommy are old. And Ada and John are in the middle. And Finn and I are young so we can all play together. And maybe you can even play too."
"Maybe," Freddie mused. "How're you intending to pay for this?"
Clara held up a finger before diving across the mattress, slipping an arm into the sliver of space between the wall and the bed, pulling out a small purse, something Freddie recognized as belonging to Ada at one time.
Clara dropped the pouch into his hand, the weight of it not unsubstantial considering she was only five and had no proper form of income.
"Where the hell did you get all this?" Freddie asked as he poured the change into his palm, counting out the coins, nearly enough to amount to a widow's old-age pension for a week, enough to house, feed, and keep an old woman warm for seven days.
"You're not supposed to say that word," Clara answered.
"And you're not supposed to steal."
"I didn't steal it," Clara answered. "I saved it."
"Saved it?"
Clara nodded. Most of the money had been given with the expectation that she'd run off and buy some sweets, a treat for good behavior, and while both twins had diligently gone down to Hinkley's, Clara almost always pocketed her money, only giving in to the aroma four times in the span of eight months. The rest of the money she'd earned from Charlie. While her aunt never paid if she helped out, Clara found that her uncle would often give her a coin if she helped him tidy his house on Watery Lane or worked in the stables with Curly.
"So will you take me?"
"To Rackham's?" Freddie asked. "To buy this game?"
Clara nodded. "And not tell Tommy?"
"You're sure this is what you want?"
Clara nodded. She was absolutely certain that the game was the perfect gift because it was much more than a game. Clara had it in her mind that the Shelby family would have many evenings around the table after dinner. Nights of laughter and playful togetherness that would make Arthur and Tommy and John and Ada want to stick around to pass their time with the twins rather than heading out for an evening on the town. And if there was anything Clara Shelby thought was worth spending her entire savings on, it was that, time together with her family.