Elizabeth nearly jumped half a foot in the air when she heard a knock on
the door. She turned around, her face pale white from the fright of the
sudden knock as a short brown hared girl came inot the room.
"Excuse me," the girl spoke quietly, entering the room with a dress draped over her left arm. "Miss Medda told me I's should bring ya a uniform," the girl blushed placing the dress over the back of a chair that sat in front of the vanity. " Da names Bailey," she smiled, brushing her hair back and turning to look at her reflection in the mirror and picking up a bobby pin and placing a lose curl back in place with it. She turned and stared at Elizabeth who as still just standing there, frozen in place. "Ain't ya gonna get dressed?" Bailey questioned, nodding towards the dress on the chair.
" I don't mean ta be trouble, but I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing here," Elizabeth replied as sweetly as possible. Bailey smiled.
" New on da streets, ain't ya?" Elizabeth gave a weak nod. " Come on, get in dat an' I'll show ya 'round." baily walked over, helping Elizabeth get out of her dress and into the waitress dress. It was a lovely shade of pink, unlike the lavender color dress Bailey had on, and to Elizabeth's great relief it wasn't as reveling as Torn's dress had been. As Bailey tied the laces up on the back o the dress, the door burst open as a roar of laugher entered the room.
" Oh, sorry. I's saw Torn out dare, I's thought dat no one was in here," the girl that Elizabeth recognized as Riley spoke through a fit of giggles as another girl pushed her furhter in the room.
" We's was just gonna put our makeup on an' fix our hair some," the girl behind her added, brushing through past Riley. " I's sure ya don't mind, Bailey," the girl smiled as Baiely gave a fake smie through gritted teeth. The girl walked over and stopped in front of Elizabeth. " And what do we have here?" she smied placing her hand to her chest which was covered by a dress similar to the one that Riley was wearing, only hers was a deep violet color.
" New goil," Bailey spoke, still through gritted teeth, which made Elizabeth look over to see her left hand clenched tightly into a fist.
" Did my aunt say it was okay?" Riley asked, turning her attention away from her own reflection, speaking almost as softly as Medda had.
" Yes, Medda told me to come in here, and get her dressed," Bailey spoke, emphasizing the words told, here, and dressed.
" Well," the girl spoke, not even throwing a glance towards Bailey. " what on earth is she doing as a waitress? This gir has true beauty, not near as my own, but I'm sure she don't deserve the disgrace o' being a waitress," she hissed, now eyeing Bailey whose face was beginning to flush with anger.
" Jade," Riley cut in, seeing Bailey's hands clench tighter. " Why don't we just go use me aunt's dressing room? I'm sure Gin's done in there." Riley smiled warmly. Jade gave a stiff nod, turning away from the girls but not without throwing a wink at Elizabeth and headed out the door.
" I'm real sorry 'bout that," Riley apologized throwing a quick sympathetic look at Bailey before turning and walking out the door and closing it behind her.
" Can ya believe da nerve o' dat one?" Bailey shook her head angrily, walking over and attacking Elizabeth's hair with a comb and pins. " Does she really think da she's bettah dan da rest o' us? I's mean, you saw da way she looked at ya, an' dat comment! 'Dis goil has true beauty, not near as me own--' honestly! I's actually think dat she was threatened by ya. And dat comment 'bout ya being bettah den a waitress! Hff, I's know she's just threw dat out at me...da nerve!" she went on and on about it until finally she looked at Elizabeth and seemed happy with the way she looked.
" Dare, all done. Now come on, I'll intarduce ya ta da goils. Now, dey all ain't as bad as Jade. I's promise ya dat much. Come on," Bailey got up, adding a dab of powder to her face before leading Elizabeth out of the room and towards a group of girls that were standing around back stage next to a man in a mask who was starting to put on a carrier for candy. " Dat's Toby," Bailey whispered. " He's da one dat normally checks out some o' dat 'night ladies'." Elizabeth gave a slightly confused look at Bailey. " Da courtesans. I's a rich goil like ya-self has heard of da Moulin Rouge in France. Well, Medda tries ta run a small joint like dat here. O' course we all ain't courtesans. Only a few."
" An' Jade?" Elizabeth asked. Bailey raised her eye brows. " Dat's da thing 'bout da real pretty ones, dey usually got something else ta do afta dey perform."
" What 'bout Torn?" Elizabeth questioned.
" She nevah told ya? She's one of da top dogs here. Men pay great amounts foah a few hours wit 'er." Bailey saw the look of horror on Elizabeth's face. "We's keep da shows clean, men can come an' ask later. Dese are an all ages show. most o' dem don't have a lot o' money, so dey just come ta watch da singing an' dancing 'cause dat's all dey can afford. Every now an' den Medda puts on a play production o' something. We's did Hamlet last month. All clean fun. We's had a lot o' women in da audience dat night. Sneaks did a lovely job at playing Ophelia." The stopped as they hit the group of girls. " Elizabeth, i'd like ta intraduce ya ta da rest o' da waitresses. Dis is Whisper, Rain, Dimples, Angelina, an' Lute." Bailey smiled at them. "Goils, dis is Elizabeth. She'll be one o' us now." the girls smiled and said hello, and Elizabeth noticed that some of them were wearing dresses like her own, and some were wearing dresses like Bailey's.
" Ya know what ya doing?" Lute asked, looking at her with a smile. She had on the same pink colored dress as Elizabeth had on.
" Not exactly..." Elizabeth frowned feeling slightly nervous.
" Wel, I's sure ya took notice ta da different colored dresses," Whisper spoke, smilng in her lavender dress which showed off her hazel eyes and brown hair nicely. Elizabeth nodded. " Well, da pink is foah takin' orders--like which man wants which goil. We'll tell ya who is up foah sale, dat way ya don't sell someone who isn't up foah it. You's also take da drinks up ta da balcony level. Dat's where most o' da street kids are." Whisper informed her. "An' we's take care o' serving da meals an' drinks down here," she finsiehd pointing at her lavender dress. " We's switch every week too," she added.
" Ta night'l be easy foah ya dough," Bailey smiled. " Da ony goils up foah sale are Torn an' Taffee. An' if ya get any offers foah one o' us, tell 'im dat dey need ta get a hold o' us. If ya need help getting a guy off ya, dat's when ya cal foah Toby o' Max--dat's Max dare," Bailey pointed out a tall young handsome man. Elizabeth nodded.
" Girls, they're coming in now," Medda spoke, shoeing them out and into the seating area.
" If ya need help, don't be afriad ta ask," Rain smiled as she headed off in her pink dress towards a group of men who were taking their seats in the front row to the left of the stage. Elizabeth gulped as she looked around, seeing some rich men come in, some that she even recognized an knew, knowning that they had wives and children back home.
Elizabeth hurried around taking drinks up to the balcony level and trying to stay as far away from the rich men that she knew as much as possible. She wasn't sure what she was more afraid of, the rich men that she had seen talking before with her father back home, or the street rats which whistled at her and whoever was on stage, some trying to grab her as she walked past with a tray full of beer. As she was delievering the drinks to a group of street kids, her mind raced. What if the boy she had yelled at earlier that day was there?
" You all right?" Rain asked, coming up to her and taking the beer from her hand. " Why don't you go back stage an take a rest, all right?"
" Yeah, I'll wiat until Torn's done and go talk to her," Elizabeth replied, looking behind her as her friend danced up on stage gaing lots of cheers.
" You'll be waiting foah a while. See dat man down dare? Dey gray haired on in da second row, center? Bought her foah ten dollars!" Rain smiled proudly. Elizabeth looked closely at the man and gasped.
" Judge Monahan?" she coughed, taking her hand to her chest and playing with the small locket around her neck.
" Who?" Rain questioned.
" That's Judge Edward Allen Monahan. He's a good friend of my fathers. He's also married and has three kids, one of which I went to school with! Her name was Alicia." Elizabeth told her, trying to keep her voice low.
" You get a lot of dat here. I's bet he's even da same judge dat sentenced her to a few years in da refuge until Medda bailed her out. That's how she ended up here. Dat's how most of us ended up here." Rain said, scratching the back of her left ear. "Probably wants ta see if what he sentenced her foah was real good o' not," she half laughed, turning around as a boy grabbed her from behind and laying a kiss on her.
" Oh God! Morris DeLancey i've told ya not ta do dat any more! I'm not afraid ta call Max ovah here an' kick ya ass out!" Rain screamed at the boy, knocking him backwards and whipping her lips with the back of her hand. All the boys smiled as Elizabeth went back to handing out drinks.
"Excuse me," the girl spoke quietly, entering the room with a dress draped over her left arm. "Miss Medda told me I's should bring ya a uniform," the girl blushed placing the dress over the back of a chair that sat in front of the vanity. " Da names Bailey," she smiled, brushing her hair back and turning to look at her reflection in the mirror and picking up a bobby pin and placing a lose curl back in place with it. She turned and stared at Elizabeth who as still just standing there, frozen in place. "Ain't ya gonna get dressed?" Bailey questioned, nodding towards the dress on the chair.
" I don't mean ta be trouble, but I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing here," Elizabeth replied as sweetly as possible. Bailey smiled.
" New on da streets, ain't ya?" Elizabeth gave a weak nod. " Come on, get in dat an' I'll show ya 'round." baily walked over, helping Elizabeth get out of her dress and into the waitress dress. It was a lovely shade of pink, unlike the lavender color dress Bailey had on, and to Elizabeth's great relief it wasn't as reveling as Torn's dress had been. As Bailey tied the laces up on the back o the dress, the door burst open as a roar of laugher entered the room.
" Oh, sorry. I's saw Torn out dare, I's thought dat no one was in here," the girl that Elizabeth recognized as Riley spoke through a fit of giggles as another girl pushed her furhter in the room.
" We's was just gonna put our makeup on an' fix our hair some," the girl behind her added, brushing through past Riley. " I's sure ya don't mind, Bailey," the girl smiled as Baiely gave a fake smie through gritted teeth. The girl walked over and stopped in front of Elizabeth. " And what do we have here?" she smied placing her hand to her chest which was covered by a dress similar to the one that Riley was wearing, only hers was a deep violet color.
" New goil," Bailey spoke, still through gritted teeth, which made Elizabeth look over to see her left hand clenched tightly into a fist.
" Did my aunt say it was okay?" Riley asked, turning her attention away from her own reflection, speaking almost as softly as Medda had.
" Yes, Medda told me to come in here, and get her dressed," Bailey spoke, emphasizing the words told, here, and dressed.
" Well," the girl spoke, not even throwing a glance towards Bailey. " what on earth is she doing as a waitress? This gir has true beauty, not near as my own, but I'm sure she don't deserve the disgrace o' being a waitress," she hissed, now eyeing Bailey whose face was beginning to flush with anger.
" Jade," Riley cut in, seeing Bailey's hands clench tighter. " Why don't we just go use me aunt's dressing room? I'm sure Gin's done in there." Riley smiled warmly. Jade gave a stiff nod, turning away from the girls but not without throwing a wink at Elizabeth and headed out the door.
" I'm real sorry 'bout that," Riley apologized throwing a quick sympathetic look at Bailey before turning and walking out the door and closing it behind her.
" Can ya believe da nerve o' dat one?" Bailey shook her head angrily, walking over and attacking Elizabeth's hair with a comb and pins. " Does she really think da she's bettah dan da rest o' us? I's mean, you saw da way she looked at ya, an' dat comment! 'Dis goil has true beauty, not near as me own--' honestly! I's actually think dat she was threatened by ya. And dat comment 'bout ya being bettah den a waitress! Hff, I's know she's just threw dat out at me...da nerve!" she went on and on about it until finally she looked at Elizabeth and seemed happy with the way she looked.
" Dare, all done. Now come on, I'll intarduce ya ta da goils. Now, dey all ain't as bad as Jade. I's promise ya dat much. Come on," Bailey got up, adding a dab of powder to her face before leading Elizabeth out of the room and towards a group of girls that were standing around back stage next to a man in a mask who was starting to put on a carrier for candy. " Dat's Toby," Bailey whispered. " He's da one dat normally checks out some o' dat 'night ladies'." Elizabeth gave a slightly confused look at Bailey. " Da courtesans. I's a rich goil like ya-self has heard of da Moulin Rouge in France. Well, Medda tries ta run a small joint like dat here. O' course we all ain't courtesans. Only a few."
" An' Jade?" Elizabeth asked. Bailey raised her eye brows. " Dat's da thing 'bout da real pretty ones, dey usually got something else ta do afta dey perform."
" What 'bout Torn?" Elizabeth questioned.
" She nevah told ya? She's one of da top dogs here. Men pay great amounts foah a few hours wit 'er." Bailey saw the look of horror on Elizabeth's face. "We's keep da shows clean, men can come an' ask later. Dese are an all ages show. most o' dem don't have a lot o' money, so dey just come ta watch da singing an' dancing 'cause dat's all dey can afford. Every now an' den Medda puts on a play production o' something. We's did Hamlet last month. All clean fun. We's had a lot o' women in da audience dat night. Sneaks did a lovely job at playing Ophelia." The stopped as they hit the group of girls. " Elizabeth, i'd like ta intraduce ya ta da rest o' da waitresses. Dis is Whisper, Rain, Dimples, Angelina, an' Lute." Bailey smiled at them. "Goils, dis is Elizabeth. She'll be one o' us now." the girls smiled and said hello, and Elizabeth noticed that some of them were wearing dresses like her own, and some were wearing dresses like Bailey's.
" Ya know what ya doing?" Lute asked, looking at her with a smile. She had on the same pink colored dress as Elizabeth had on.
" Not exactly..." Elizabeth frowned feeling slightly nervous.
" Wel, I's sure ya took notice ta da different colored dresses," Whisper spoke, smilng in her lavender dress which showed off her hazel eyes and brown hair nicely. Elizabeth nodded. " Well, da pink is foah takin' orders--like which man wants which goil. We'll tell ya who is up foah sale, dat way ya don't sell someone who isn't up foah it. You's also take da drinks up ta da balcony level. Dat's where most o' da street kids are." Whisper informed her. "An' we's take care o' serving da meals an' drinks down here," she finsiehd pointing at her lavender dress. " We's switch every week too," she added.
" Ta night'l be easy foah ya dough," Bailey smiled. " Da ony goils up foah sale are Torn an' Taffee. An' if ya get any offers foah one o' us, tell 'im dat dey need ta get a hold o' us. If ya need help getting a guy off ya, dat's when ya cal foah Toby o' Max--dat's Max dare," Bailey pointed out a tall young handsome man. Elizabeth nodded.
" Girls, they're coming in now," Medda spoke, shoeing them out and into the seating area.
" If ya need help, don't be afriad ta ask," Rain smiled as she headed off in her pink dress towards a group of men who were taking their seats in the front row to the left of the stage. Elizabeth gulped as she looked around, seeing some rich men come in, some that she even recognized an knew, knowning that they had wives and children back home.
Elizabeth hurried around taking drinks up to the balcony level and trying to stay as far away from the rich men that she knew as much as possible. She wasn't sure what she was more afraid of, the rich men that she had seen talking before with her father back home, or the street rats which whistled at her and whoever was on stage, some trying to grab her as she walked past with a tray full of beer. As she was delievering the drinks to a group of street kids, her mind raced. What if the boy she had yelled at earlier that day was there?
" You all right?" Rain asked, coming up to her and taking the beer from her hand. " Why don't you go back stage an take a rest, all right?"
" Yeah, I'll wiat until Torn's done and go talk to her," Elizabeth replied, looking behind her as her friend danced up on stage gaing lots of cheers.
" You'll be waiting foah a while. See dat man down dare? Dey gray haired on in da second row, center? Bought her foah ten dollars!" Rain smiled proudly. Elizabeth looked closely at the man and gasped.
" Judge Monahan?" she coughed, taking her hand to her chest and playing with the small locket around her neck.
" Who?" Rain questioned.
" That's Judge Edward Allen Monahan. He's a good friend of my fathers. He's also married and has three kids, one of which I went to school with! Her name was Alicia." Elizabeth told her, trying to keep her voice low.
" You get a lot of dat here. I's bet he's even da same judge dat sentenced her to a few years in da refuge until Medda bailed her out. That's how she ended up here. Dat's how most of us ended up here." Rain said, scratching the back of her left ear. "Probably wants ta see if what he sentenced her foah was real good o' not," she half laughed, turning around as a boy grabbed her from behind and laying a kiss on her.
" Oh God! Morris DeLancey i've told ya not ta do dat any more! I'm not afraid ta call Max ovah here an' kick ya ass out!" Rain screamed at the boy, knocking him backwards and whipping her lips with the back of her hand. All the boys smiled as Elizabeth went back to handing out drinks.
