Part Two
Two hours passed and Nellie now stood in front of a beautiful manor, and while it certainly wasn't a castle, it was still one of the loveliest homes that she had ever seen. She watched as Gertrude pulled a key ring out of her purse, her eyes widened at the sight, she had never seen so many keys at once. Did this place truly have that many rooms? Gertrude used one key to open the front glass door to reveal a lovely porch space but only knocked on the door that opened to the manor itself. A balding man opened the door and Gertrude offered a passing word of gratitude. Nellie's mouth fell when she saw the inside, a grand staircase with a large chandelier suspending over it. Gertrude closed her eyes upon seeing Nellie's reaction and placed her fingers under the girl's chin, closing her mouth. "Aunt Gertrude, is this really where ya live?" Gertrude nodded and waved for Nellie to follow her lead, up the staircase and to the left until she stopped at a large oak door. She opened it to reveal a room that was at least double the size of her tiny bedroom at home.
Nellie knew that her mum and Aunt Nettie came from wealth and, agreeing to an arranged marriage, Nettie had married into more wealth. Her mother, Ruth, on the other hand, had met her own love and chose him, despite the protests of Nellie's strictly conventional grandparents. Nellie had never really known her grandparents after they had turned on Ruth, and her decision to marry Nellie's father. Nellie's parents may not have been able to give her a formal education, and she had often felt a pang of envy when she saw other children with their tutors or racing to school, but her parents had given her all of the love that she could have asked for. Still though, seeing the wealth that seemed to surround her now, maybe she'd finally get the chance to intellectually measure up to others her age. She was so lost in her thoughts of what wonderful new things she could learn about and hope to be, that she had completely missed what her aunt was telling her.
"My bedroom is right at the end of the hall," Gertrude repeated in a biting tone, "and this is to be your bedroom. You will come to me every morning at eight and I will tell you what you are to do for the day." Nellie frowned and raised an eyebrow at the woman. What did her aunt mean by asking her what she was supposed to do each day? Wasn't her aunt going to care for her now? To educate her? Sensing the girl's confusion, Gertrude let out a long sigh and rolled her eyes, "It's simple, Eleanor, you are to be my personal lady's maid. You will aid in my dressing and undressing each day, cleaning my bedroom as well as other rooms when I say. You will also go to the market and to the shops when you are told, both to order and to pick up purchases. There will also be other duties that will come as I call upon you, you must be ready at any time that I am in need of your services, morning or evening. Failure to perform as expected will result in punishment. Further difficulty and I will not see you onto the streets, but I will find you employment in my personal business outside of the home, do you understand?" Nellie nodded and Gertrude offered a slight smile. "Wonderful. Then you may have the remainder of the day to spend as you wish, Eight in the morning sharp, straight to work." Gertrude left Nellie alone in her bedroom, quietly pulling the door shut behind her. For the rest of the day, Nellie was treated as she had always imagined that a princess might be; sitting next to Gertrude at the large dinner table and getting a share of the splendid cake that the cooks had prepared for her arrival at dessert.
Later that night, Nellie stood at the doorway of her aunt's large bedroom, as Gertrude watched her, a stern frown stuck on her lips. "Erm, Auntie Gertrude, I'm sorry to bother ya, but would it be possible, could I stay 'ere tonight?" Gertrude raised a brow and crossed her arms at the child's request. "S'not like I'm scared of the dark or nothin'. It's just so big in me room, and I miss me mum and papa, and I don't want to feel so alo…" She couldn't finish her sentence as her voice became choked with sobs. Without a second thought, she sprinted onto the older woman's bed and hid her face in Gertrude's lap, as she had always done with her mother when she was upset, as she had done when she had lost her mother. This woman certainly wasn't her mother, however; her mother would have immediately moved to comfort and hold her. Her aunt only watched, stationary, before slowly lowering her hand to stiffly pat the girl's head. Gertrude then pushed Nellie up and away from her before pulling herself up from the bed, wrapping a robe about her before leading the child back to her respective room. "Please Auntie, will you stay with me?" Gertrude shook her head, stating that the next day would be a busy one and that, as a "big girl", Nellie had no need for Gertrude to stay with her.
The next day, her role changed, as well as her treatment by her, now, fellow servants. No matter how often she reminded them, they continuously referred to her as the "Child Servant." When she would pass them in the halls, she could often overhear them speak about her, the "Child servant", the "abandoned Orphan girl", and she hated it, especially since it wasn't true. Once her papa was all better, he and Nellie would prove them all wrong, and he'd take her away. It was only her first day and she was already praying for him to take her back home and away from these people. The other servants were snooty, her aunt was cold, and she felt completely alone here. At both breakfast and dinner that day, her aunt had sent her away to eat with the other servants. In truth, she hadn't even received any dinner. When one of the other servants had asked for her assistance with cleaning the floor, she had accidently toppled over the bucket of water, causing the older woman to let out a string of profanity before taking a hard grip of the girl's ear. When Gertrude had gotten word of what had happened, she looked at her niece's tear-stained face and waved off the incident, claiming that it was only the girl's first day. However, the older servant wouldn't let it go so easily, reminding Nellie that failure to perform resulted in punishment, and Nellie feared that if she complained to her aunt, that she would be sent off. So instead, she went to bed that night with an empty stomach and tears in her eyes, only wishing that she could have her parents back.
Months came and went, and Nellie was starting to get used to her position in the manor. The work itself wasn't over-strenuous, but having to be alert at all times of the day, even in the early hours of the morning, could be difficult for the young girl. Constantly working until nearly one in the morning at times fatigued her, which then led to blundering mistakes and messes, which she would then have to clean, again. As if that weren't enough, Nellie was positive that the other servants were against her. By a certain time, they had all come to learn that she was Gertrude's niece. Knowing that she slept in a nicer bedroom than the other servants that lived under Gertrude's roof. Knowing that while she may dine with the other servants, she got food above her station and equal to Gertrude. The way that she was treated may have been similar to the other servants, but as far as they were concerned, these few advantages were enough to gain their loathing and envy. When she was assigned to clean a room, one of the other housekeepers would disturb it after she had finished, leaving her to explain the mess. If she had work to do with another servant, they would leave her to do most, if not all of the job, and when inspections were made, the other would claim that she was negligent and left them to do the chore. Nellie received no solace from any members of the house. She became familiar with the feeling of being sent to bed with a rumbling stomach, and she would occasionally even spend an entire day hungry as punishment for her "laziness." Maids would take things from different rooms, hiding them in Nellie's, and blaming the girl's "forgetful mind", gaslighting the confused little girl. Any attempt that the girl made to defend herself was received with icy looks and the suggestion that she was being "disrespectful" towards her elders and the servants who had been there longer than herself.
Her troubles certainly didn't end at false accusations and an empty stomach. She would often catch the other servants speaking quietly to one another, ceasing whenever they caught her staring. Though she was merely a child, Nellie had to roll her eyes at their lack of maturity, especially since most were quite older than herself. A servant cleaning nearby would often "mistakenly" leave a puddle of water, occasionally resulting in Nellie falling. If she spoke of being in any pain, they would tell Gertrude that it was due to her clumsiness. Some of her fellow employees would even take their mistreatment further. After already having been scolded by her aunt for supposedly not doing her work, another servant might box her ears or worse for her alleged insolence. To say that Nellie was troubled by all that was happening would be a grave understatement. Again, she thought of talking to her aunt, but would her aunt believe the words of a "misbehaving" child over her loyal servants that had been there for far longer than she? As it turned out, she had no need to say a world. and she couldn't say that she was surprised when Gertrude finally approached her and stated that she would not be needed in the home any longer. She tried to preserve her situation the house again. She finally spoke the truth that she had been too afraid to reveal for what seemed like so long, but after some time, Gertrude would no longer hear it. She had Nellie pack her belongings and follow her. As they left the building, Nellie turned behind her to see cheeky smiles on the faces of some of the other servants. She felt a small amount of relief from the knowledge that she was away from those people, but she still felt a shiver of panic over not knowing where she would now end up.
As it turned out, the pair would only take a short walk to a smaller but still rather elegant looking building a bit down the street. From the walk, Nellie could see the large voluminous dark red curtains that covered the windows from the inside, a beautiful garden also surrounded the building and cut back greenery slowly crept up the edges of the stone walls. They walked through the large gates together and Gertrude knocked on the door. This time the pair were greeted by a woman who looked to be in her early thirties with long brown curls. "Oi... Oops, I mean, 'ello Miss Gertrude, please come in." They entered and Nellie was quickly greeted by the overpowering scent of cigar smoke, causing the child to erupt into a coughing fit.
The woman gave Nellie a crooked frown and whispered, "Ain't she a bit young Gert, jus' a lil' one she is." Gertrude whispered something back and the woman bit her lower lip and gave the child a small frown. She bent over slightly, giving Nellie a slight view of her cleavage, to which Nellie's eyes widened before she quickly looked down at her shoes. The woman smiled lightly and, fixing her dress, got down to Nellie's level and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're gonna 'ave ta get used to that sweetie. Anyway, you're lookin' all skin an' bone, ya may 'as a cute lil' face but a skeleton ain't too pretty. Say goodbye to yer auntie and we'll get ya somethin', eh?" Gertrude offered Nellie a quick farewell. No tears for essentially abandoning her niece and no warmth from even a simple hug farewell.
The woman looked at Nellie as she watched Gertrude walk into another room, shutting the door behind her. The woman got down again, taking Nellie's hands into her own. "S'alright, love. I know that Gert can be a bit aloof, but she really does mean well. When she brings someone 'ere, it ain't the nicest place to be sure, but as long as you're 'ere, you're off the streets. As long as you're 'ere, you can be sure that you are safe and fed. It's just, well, Gert don't quite know 'ow to deal wiv' little ones is all. Believe me, dearie, this may be a strange place to ya, and it will take you some time to get used to what goes on 'round 'ere. From what Gert's told me, though, you may very well be safer 'ere. After all, you'll 'ave me to watch out for ya, and any questions that you've got, you just come to me." Nellie's eyes showed no emotion, neither fear nor relief. She simply nodded her head and allowed the brunette to bring her into her arms. The woman then stood again and offered Nellie a gentle smile, "Right then, love, 'ow about we find ya somethin' to eat."
Days passed and Nellie had gotten to know some of the women there, though none of them were as young as she; the youngest being a nineteen-year-old blonde named Adelaide, though she requested that everyone call her Addie. Nellie had warmed up to her almost instantly, she had even begun to secretly think of her as an older sister. The brunette that she had first met went by Cora and she would quickly become like a second mother to the now ten-year-old. The trio were currently talking in the sitting room when the doors were opened, and Gertrude strode in. "I've come to see how you are faring, Eleanor. Are the girls making you feel comfortable?"
Nellie cocked her head; Gertrude had never really seemed to give too much thought for her comfort in the past. She had listened to Cora's words upon her arrival, and even tried to believe them, but she really didn't see how her aunt had her best interests and safety at heart. When Nellie had tried to defend her innocence to the woman against the other servants back at the manor, Gertrude had discarded her and taken her to this strange place. Why would she seem to care about Nellie's happiness now? However, she thought it best to stay on her aunt's good side, just in case this place really was to be her last chance. "I'm well Aunt Gertrude, did you want to speak with me?"
The two older ones shared a quick glance, Addie wrapped her arm around one of Nellie's. Gertrude fixed the bifocals that had slipped and studied Nellie for a brief moment. "Eleanor, now that you've had some time to adjust, you should know what will be expected of you. You see, I have arranged an introduction for you to speak with a good friend of mine tomorrow. Now, I know that you are quite young, therefore, neither of us has very high expectations from you. If my friend is generally pleased, however, you will do quite well for yourself here."
Nellie asked what Gertrude was speaking of when Cora cut in. "Erm, Gert, we never really, got around to tellin' 'er what goes on 'ere. Seein' as she's just a babe we, well, wanted to make her comfy first ya see." Nellie was getting more confused and upset by the second, insisting on knowing what everyone was being so cryptic about. Cora looked down at her wringing hands, not looking the girl in the eyes. "Listen Nell, we didn' wanna rush this on ya, but, do you know where you are, love?" Nellie shrugged and shook her head slowly, only feeling a deeper sense of fear creep over her body. "Sweetie, we provide a service so to speak. Men will come by and we… spend time with them." Nellie may have been young, but she was quick to catch onto Cora's meaning.
Nellie let out a shaky breath and, slowly getting to her feet, made a dash for the door, but Gertrude reached it first and stood in her way. "Now Eleanor, you must act like a big girl. You are just to speak with him, though he may see if you do have any potential here for the future. There are two options ahead of you, either you do what is necessary here and have a roof over your head, or you may leave but you will have nowhere to go."
"Oh, but Auntie Gertrude, I promise that I'll be'ave. Jus' don't make me, please! Ya told me that you'd not put me out." She fell to Gertrude's feet, pounding her fists on the floor in a fit of sorrow. Gertrude cleared her throat and, forcing herself to look away from the crying child in front of her, began to walk away from the lamentable scene. "Auntie Gertrude, please! Auntie Gertrude, I don't wanna do this!" Knowing that Gertrude was either actively ignoring her or could no longer hear her at this point, Nellie pulled herself from the floor and, dragging her feet, made her up the stairs.
As soon as Gertrude had left, Adelaide rushed to her feet and began to scamper after Nellie, but Cora grabbed her arm to stop her. "Don't, Addie, jus' let 'er be alone. You remember when you first found out what was 'appenin' here? Well, I certainly do. I spent hours listening to yer cryin', nothing would console ya but time." Addie blinked back tears and, seeing her pain, Cora wrapped her arms around the younger woman and pulled her into a hug. "Come now, let's give 'er some time alone and then we'll go up and speak with 'er." Addie nodded and the pair continued to speak, desperately trying to turn deaf ears to Nellie's quiet sobs, until the point came where they became so powerful that both women had their hands to their mouths and hastily flew up the stairs, completely forgetting Cora's previous advice.
Cora and Addie had warned Nellie about what was coming but she hadn't anticipated just how horrible it was going to be. Late the next night she lay curled up in her bed, crying out in both physical and emotional torment. Cora sat beside her, running her hands through the wailing girl's hair while faintly shushing her. Addie worked to provide verbal support, telling her that it was a nightmare now, but that she would get used to it in time. She reminded Nellie that no matter what happened, she and Cora would be there to console her. Nellie continued to weep, "But it 'urts so m-m-much! Please, just m-ma-make the pain stop! Why is it so sore? It feels like it's burning me." The girl clung to the blanket so tightly, her knuckles had turned white, warm tears made her cheeks feel like they were burning as they rolled down and soaked a large spot on the blanket. Cora slowly lifted Nellie onto her lap with care and began to rock her while Addie, standing at the end of the bed, began to shed tears for the child whom she had started to refer to as her sister. She paced back and forth, venting out her frustration towards Gertrude and how a ten-year-old child had no place in a place like this. Cora only gave her a hard glare, telling her that yelling wasn't going to help to comfort Nellie. She dropped her head and slowly approached the pair, and together they embraced Nellie in a protective cocoon, offering her as many comforting words as they could offer. At this moment Nellie wasn't very sure that she believed these words, but the two of them somehow still managed to quell her hysterics and the three found themselves quickly dozing off on Nellie's small bed.
Cora and Adelaide had been silent as they ate their breakfast the next morning, the previous night's occurrences still playing in their minds. Nellie had still been asleep when they awoke, Addy with her arms wrapped tightly around Nellie's tiny form, Cora curled up at the end of the bed. Putting her finger to her lips, Cora had given the top of Nellie's head a soft stroke and kissed her temple before they snuck out of the room. One thing was for certain, Cora and Adelaide were going to approach Gertrude the very moment that they had a chance.
"Gertrude, we need to talk to you about Nellie." The pair now stood in her private office, Gertrude holding a fountain pen between her fingers and the younger women with their arms crossed. Gertrude looked up at them through her bifocals, but her eyes seemed tired and detached. Addy stepped forward, sitting on the corner of the desk, "Gert, the poor thing spent the entire night in tears with us comforting her. She 'ad no idea what 'ad happened to 'er, and she shouldn't 'cause she's only ten years old, she's jus' a baby. What's more important, she's your niece, I would think that ya want 'er safe and happy. I'm sure whomever left 'er in your care 'ad certainly not planned on this being in 'er future. I said it before and I'm sayin' it again, she don't belong in a place like this, it just ain't safe."
Gertrude began to take down notes in a book before letting out a sigh and rubbing her temples. "Adelaide, you came here when you were sixteen, a young lady yourself. I know that Eleanor is my niece, though it is none of your business. While she is under this roof, however, she will live just like any of the other girls here. I guaranteed her safety when I took her in, she will be safe as long as she is here. Her happiness, however, is not my responsib-"
Before Gertrude had the chance to finish her sentence, Cora broke into the conversation, slamming her fists on the desk to make her opinion very clear. "She, is, a, child!" Both Addie and Gertrude jumped and looked at the woman agasp, as Cora was typically known to be the quiet and accepting type. "I apologize fer yellin' Gert, but she's really only a little one. At least when Addie first arrived, she were already sixteen and gone through certain… stages. Most of us end up 'ere when we've got no place else to turn to, but Nell's just ten and she's barely gotten any time to, erm, mature."
Gertrude laid her head in her hands and let out a loud sigh. "You girls are not in the same position that Eleanor is in. I am personally responsible for her. Her father, my brother, he, he's very ill. His wife passed shortly before he left Eleanor with me, and he hasn't been well since she's died. He implored that I take control as her guardian because he didn't feel that she was safe under his care. If she isn't here, the girl has nowhere else to go. I learned only after it was already happening that while she was living in my manor, some of the housekeepers had been mistreating her. She may have thought that I wasn't listening, or that I didn't care, but at the time I didn't know what else to do for her. When they first began to tell me that Eleanor was misbehaving or not performing her duties, I just figured that she was understandably upset and would inform them to ignore it and to just go on as normal." Gertrude then faced Adelaide, shaking her head slowly. "When she did approach me about how they were treating her, starving her, with me not knowing anything about it, I began to watch them more closely and learned that she had been speaking the truth. Bringing her here was the only way that I knew to get her away from there. Eleanor's personal happiness is not my responsibility, but her safety is, and she was not safe there."
Addie sat on the settee, her eyes stuck to Gertrude and mouth hanging open. Cora was the first to respond to Gertrude's revelation, crouching down and resting a hand on her knee. "We know the kind of person ya really are Gert, but you know that she ain't perfectly safe 'ere neither. What 'appened last night; Addie and I really did stay wiv' her all night long. Comfortin' 'er and sayin' that it would be okay like yer supposed ta when someone's as dismal as she was, even if we weren't even confident in our words."
Gertrude rose from her chair and walking to the settee, sat down and took her handkerchief, dabbing at the tears pricking her eyes. "Of course, I know that there is a possibility that she could be harmed in a place like this. I've also spoken to my friend that met with her. He informed me that he had frightened her, that she seemed to be completely unknowledgeable about what he had been doing, and I have directed him to not return for the time being. She must stay here, though, or she has nowhere to go, and if she's here then she must work just as you both do. I don't know anything about children, I don't know what to do with her, how to help her."
That's when Adelaide fully understood what all of this meant, Gertrude wasn't intentionally trying to be cruel to Nellie at all. She had no children of her own, no other nieces or nephews, Nellie was the only child that she knew and in truth, she had no idea of what she was doing. Though, that still didn't make the situation any more appropriate for the young girl. She sat down beside Gertrude and offered a smile. "Go easy on 'er Gert, she's only a child and she was frightened and in pain. I mean, the poor thing probably 'asn't even started to enter woman'ood, so she certainly ain't gonna know anything 'bout what 'appened wiv' her last night. I know what the rest of us do and that you've got a business to run 'ere, but it's nothin' for a ten year old to be doin', and ya know that, too. Yes, you only intended for this man to meet with her, and that was all, but you… we've all gotta do a better job of lookin' out for 'er. That also means watchin' out for who she speaks to, at least until she's older and she's become more, familiar, with 'ow things go 'round 'ere. For now, just give 'er smaller jobs, maybe just keepin' 'em company and the like. Ya know we've got that piano and some of 'em table games in the main 'all, entertain 'em while they wait, right? She's told me that 'er mother taught 'er piano, and a bit of chess and cards. We'll both work to keep a watch on 'er to make sure that she's kept safe. No touchin' or anything like that." After some thought Gertrude agreed that it may be the best thing at the moment and the girls felt somewhat better telling Nellie this. Upon hearing the change of plans, Nellie first shied away completely. Realising that this was better than the alternative, however, and far better than being shown out and left to the uncaring streets of London, she quietly complied.
Years passed and Nellie grew from being a small child who shied away from mostly all that she met, to a young lady of fifteen who could say that she saw the darkness of the world almost every day but had learned to face it instead of running from it. Facing these fears included accepting and moving forward from that frightful experience five years prior, though either Cora or Adelaide would still be the first to meet with any male customer that was assigned to her. They, along with Gertrude, also formed an agreement that one of the two would be close by and ready to intervene if there was any audible upset from the teenager. They had vowed her safety to Gertrude, and they would ensure that it was kept. However, neither of the four knew that their system would go so wrong because of one mistake. They also had no inkling that this could be the last time that they would ever see Nellie again.