My Darling Love
Chapter 25 – Margaret Penny Davis
"She was a perfect lady, just sat in her seat and stared."
-Eudora Welty
"You were not supposed to know till after everything was fully arranged and settled. He didn't want disappoint you, if it should not happen." Grandpa Joe sat in his armchair and lit his pipe.
"Where are we going to put another child in this house?" Mary asked looking about. The Darling residence only had three bedrooms with one bathroom. There was a dining room, kitchen and formal parlor on the first floor, and when everyone was home, one could not take a step without bumping into another. "I don't want you to move in with Aunt Millicent, she'll either drive you insane or kill you in your sleep," Mary continued, "There just isn't any room. As it is, we should put Wendy in her own bedroom, for now that she is becoming a young lady, it will be improper to make her share space with the boys. There is just no place to put another child in this house."
"We'll make room," Grandpa Joe assured his daughter. "You always forget about the attic. It's just a huge empty loft, and with some work, I think it will make a nice living space for Wendy and Margaret. You know, Mary Elizabeth, Wendy has always dreamed of a sister. This is better, they will be like twins, so close in age."
Wendy awoke first that morning, and went to find her mother. Over tea and crumpets, she told her mother of all their adventures in Neverland. Wendy ended with the story of how they escaped. "Well, we decided it was time to come home and we told Peter. He was mad that we wanted to leave, and begged John, Michael and me to stay. We just couldn't, mother, and we told him that we must go home and grow up. We were just about to take our leave when we ran smack into the middle of a trap set by Captain Hook and his pirates. He captured all of us and took us to his ship and then made me walk the plank."
"He made you walk the plank?" Mary asked, shocked.
"Yes, and when I fell off, Peter caught me and saved me. There was a fierce battle between Peter Pan and Captain Hook, and all the pirates and all the lost boys. Peter Pan was losing, he had already been sliced, and he even fell from the sky because Captain Hook took away all his happy thoughts. But then the most wonderful thing happened."
Mary leaned toward Wendy, showing her intrigue, so Wendy continued. "Father came dressed in his pajamas. Captain Hook and his pirates were laughing at him, but he didn't care. Mr. Smee, Captain Hook's first mate, gave father a sword and he and Captain Hook dueled. Father is a brave and an experienced swordsman." Wendy knew she was giving her mother information she was not yet privy to.
"Captain Hook stabbed father and he fell. Then the dread pirate bent down and whispered something in his ear. I was screaming, and he looked at me. And then when all seemed lost, father pulled out a diamond necklace, it looked a lot like the one he gave you at Christmas, but with loads more diamonds. It was so beautiful, mother, something worthy of a queen. He traded all of us for it, I suppose, and Captain Hook agreed. But father being clumsy, tripped over Peter Pan's foot and almost fell overboard. Then something even more amazing happened." Mary was waiting with bated breath on the edge of her seat, "Captain Hook saved father," Wendy said slapping the table in disbelief, shocked at her own story.
"Really, why?"
"I have no idea! But Hook saved him, and then he whispered something else in his ear and then they shook hands. Mr. Smee loaded us all up into a boat after we were pulled from the water and he was going to take us all home. But Peter cried out for us and said we couldn't trust Captain Hook, we must remain behind and defeat him. Father left the way he arrived, and with him gone, mother, we stayed behind to continue with the battle. My kiss saved Peter! He got strong again and took flight with Captain Hook and fought in the sky. In the end Peter still didn't want us to leave, but we did because we wanted to come home and grow up. It was a marvelous adventure, Mother!"
"What of Captain Hook, Wendy?" Mary asked, leaning her head against her arm, which rested on the table.
"Dead. He conceded his defeat to Peter Pan and fell out of the sky -- because he had no happy thoughts -- into the mouth of a crocodile waiting below, and it swallowed Captain Hook up whole. It even burped its delight in the scrumptious meal."
Wendy could not tell by her mother's face if she believed her or not, for Mary's face seemed to sadden when she heard of the pirate captain's fate. But that didn't matter, because that is what Wendy would always remember of that fateful day.
Peter Pan brought them back the to nursery and told them to wait for their parents, as it would take longer for grown ups to return from Neverland. "Your mother was there to save you, but Captain Hook held her captive on shore, she escaped and will be home any second." Peter Pan informed Wendy.
Wendy watched her father fall from the sky and then her mother, who landed right on top of him. "We shall stay in bed and surprise them when they come upstairs," Wendy told her brothers. Wendy now smiled at Mary who brushed the hair out of her daughter's face. "Mother, I am ready to grow up."
Mary nodded her head, "I know, my dearest, but not yet. You should have a few more days of happy dreams and childhood left."
The boys came down and they ate breakfast, both with their own stories and adventures. They pretty much had the same as their sister's, with the exception of Captain Hook. Apparently, she was the only one of the Darling children to meet him personally.
Grandpa Joe took the children from the house and to morning mass to thank the Lord for bringing them back home. The congregation gathered and watched the children enter with their grandfather. The priest said a special prayer of appreciation to God for guiding the Darling children back to their family unharmed. After church, the children headed with their grandfather to the police station. There, they received the same reception from the constables as they did from the parishioners, loads of hugs and kisses. Oddly, no one asked the children of their whereabouts, gladly accepting Grandpa Joe's simple declaration of, "The children have safely returned home to us!"
After the station house, they stopped by the bakery and picked up special treats to go visiting with Aunt Millicent. She had taken to bed due to shock, and was moaning and groaning rather loudly in her bed when they arrived. It seemed every time she opened her eyes and saw John, Michael and Wendy she would faint. She finally did come around, but only to clutch to the children, begging them, "Please never do that to us again. We could not go on without you..."
Mary spent the day lying next to George in bed. But first, she went to her dreams drawer in her vanity. There, she removed her wedding invitation to the bigger fish and the stationary with her married name, "Mary Elizabeth Fisher." She also removed the picture Wendy made of her and Captain Hook, and story Wendy had written where the lovely queen escapes the cowardly king and runs away with the pirate captain. (In this story, the cowardly king is stabbed through the heart and the lovely queen laughs while her king lays dying, begging for mercy.) She brought all the items downstairs to the fireplace and threw them into the dancing flames. "I love you, George," she said, as the last bits turned to ashes.
George woke up in the middle of the afternoon, and found Mary fully dressed napping beside him. Wendy sat in the chair next to his bedside, and when he opened his eyes, she touched his hand to gain his attention. George turned toward his daughter, and she asked, "Father, what did Captain Hook tell you?"
George signaled toward his eyeglass case on his dresser. She retrieved his spare spectacles and gave them to him. Once they were affixed on his face he answered her question. "He told me my children love me, my wife loves me, and even the family pet loves me. He told me to never stop fighting for them, and only accept victory or death."
Wendy did not know what he meant, but Mary knew, and she held her tongue and listened to George recount his side of the story. "I don't know where that necklace came from in my pajamas, but suddenly it was there. He said it originally belonged to him and he wanted it back. He mumbled something about it being a sacred reminder of his past that someone had entrusted me with. I told him no one would ever trust me with something so precious. I wish I could have kept it for your mother."
George was sad and Wendy tried to comfort him as best she could. "It was only a dream father, mother's necklace is just as beautiful." George turned his head from Wendy, seeing Mary, eyes closed beside him, he rose up from the bed and dressed in his bathrobe. "Wendy, you are not supposed to be in this room."
Wendy's smile turned to a frown, but only until George offered, "Your mother would be displeased that a young lady such as yourself was not properly dressed for dinner." He removed the gold bracelet with green stones from Mary's jewelry box and gave it Wendy. "You should wear this at dinner tonight, and a dress to match."
Still a child at heart, not quite ready to grow up, Wendy still enjoyed playing dress up. She hugged and kissed her father who squeezed her just as tightly and ran from the room. George closed Mary's jewelry drawer and opened the wardrobe. Mary sat up after Wendy left and watched George dress. "I sold your necklace, Mary, the day after I gave it to you," he told her, not returning her gaze, but feeling her eyes on the back of his head nonetheless.
"To pay James Shipman?"
George spun on his heel, clutching his injured side. "How did you know that?"
Grandpa Joe told her to tell George he was the one who spilled the secret, so she did. "My father told me when I asked him to pick it up from the jewelers. He said you didn't know how to tell me. He also said the jeweler paid you top dollar for it, seeing it was of the finest quality."
"Dear Mary, it was hardly in your possession more than a few hours. But there was nowhere else to take the money from. I'm using almost all our savings to build a room adequate for Wendy in the attic, which was also to be a surprise, so Grandpa Joe doesn't have to move. I will not take any money out of the children's savings, for that is for their futures alone. I will not ask your Aunt Millicent for a single cent. I know what she would say, 'George Darling, why ever would you want another mouth to feed. You are just fortunate with your incompetence that Mary can no longer have babies, otherwise you would have a dozen children by now!'" George performed his best Aunt Millicent impression.
"I'm not upset, George, I just want to know how did you ever think of bringing Penny's daughter here?" Mary asked, resting her head on his shoulder as she stood behind him.
"Her father is a drunk degenerate gambler. He had her begging in the streets by the bank. It was the middle of winter and she was dressed in rags, filthy from head to toe. She had bugs crawling in her hair and was covered in sores. She didn't even have shoes on her feet. Well, it broke my heart. So I called our lawyer and had him send a request to her father. He wanted an enormous amount of money, so I began sending him payments. When the money coming was not fast enough, he threatened to put that innocent child, who is only a few months older than our Wendy, out on the streets as a prostitute. I couldn't let that happen, so I sold your necklace. I'm worse than a thief."
"No, George," his wife told him, tears in her eyes. "You are my hero."
George shook his head, "I should have asked."
Mary pulled her husband around to face her. She touched his cheek, "You know what my answer would have been. I would have given you permission to sell my necklace, my grandmother's broche, my new hair clip and even my silver vanity set. And now Wendy will have the sister she always wanted!" She finished with a kiss that settled all arguments. There was the beating of several fists on the bedroom door. "Yes?" Mary asked.
Three young voices chorused, "We're starving mother and there is no supper." George and Mary smiled at one another, joyous to hear those three voices again.
"That's because we are all going to a restaurant tonight, my treat." Grandpa Joe bellowed from the other side.
"No that's alright, I can make something quickly," Mary replied, wiping happy tears from her cheeks.
"No, I will not hear of it, what's the use of having money for retirement when George will not allow me to spend any of it!"
George and Mary headed out and down the stairs where the family waited by the foyer. The children celebrated around their father, almost carrying him from the house. If they were able to hoist him on their shoulders in victory they would have.
Mary followed out with her father, and he told Mary, "Even after selling your diamonds, there still was not enough money. I gave George the rest. I also told him I would be buying my own pipe tobacco from now on. I wanted to leave to make more room for you and your family, but he told me I was family." He kissed Mary on the cheek and extended his arm to escort his only daughter to their dinner at the finest restaurant in all of London.
March 15th rolled around rather quickly and Margaret Penny Shipman Darling landed on their doorstep that very morning.
George had not exaggerated. She was covered in grime. She appeared as though she had not been bathed in her whole life. Not only was she covered in sores from neglect, but also in bruises as well from the beatings her father gave her. It took Mary the entire morning to get her clean. She sat the silent child in the tub of warm suds and washed her. Then she would wrap Margaret in a clean towel, drain the tub, scrub it, and then refill it with water and make Margaret wash again.
Her hair was lice infested, so, with Grandpa Joe's help, they soaked her head in kerosene and then shaved her hair off with George's razor. Mary rubbed cream on Margaret's bald scalp to ease the blisters that developed from the harsh treatment to rid her head of bugs. Mary then showed Margaret how to gracefully wrap a scarf around her head to hide her missing hair. "When it grows back, it will be as lovely as your mother's, I promise."
Margaret was malnourished and small for her age. Even though she was months older than Wendy, she was as smaller than Michael. She appeared to be skin on bones, and when Mary asked if she had received her monthlies, Margaret shook her head no. "She has not reached puberty yet, she has no breasts," Aunt Millicent observed when she came to greet the newest Darling child.
Throughout Margaret's first day in the Darling residence, she didn't utter a peep. Mary altered a few of Wendy's dresses to fit Margaret, and fed her breakfast and lunch. Margaret wolfed down the food as if was to be her last meal ever.
When she was finished eating, she pushed up her sleeves and, without being asked, removed the mop and bucket from the closet and began to scrub the floor. "Oh no, dearest, children do not do housework in this home, Mr. Darling will not hear of it." Aunt Millicent pulled Margaret to her feet and sat her back down.
"Can you read?" Aunt Millicent asked as Mary watched with a wry smile at Millicent's tender attitude. Margaret shook her head. "You cannot read? Have you ever been educated in school?" Again, Margaret shook her head no. "Well, we must begin your education this very instant. Mary I am taking Margaret with me to enroll her in school." Mary began to object, wanting George to meet the child first and appraise the situation for himself, but Aunt Millicent ignored her and stalked from the house with Margaret's small hand clasped in hers.
They had intended it to be a surprise for the children when they came home to find a new sister. George even left work early to arrive home before them. They all found the same thing when they walked through the door. "She was not sent?" George asked when he found Mary and her father sitting in the parlor.
"Yes, she arrived just after you left for work," Mary responded shrugging her shoulders. "Aunt Millicent took her this afternoon to enroll her in school and has not yet returned." The children came home next and took no notice of their parents' baffled expressions. By supper, with Aunt Millicent and Margaret still absent, George and Grandpa Joe took a cab to her home. They returned at midnight. "I fed the children and sent them to bed, where's Margaret?" Mary asked when the two gentlemen returned, empty-handed.
"My sister wants to keep Margaret with her," Grandpa Joe answered, shaking his head. "She says there is no room here for another child, and her house is big and empty and she is alone with no one to love. She says Margaret will need round-the-clock care to bring her to her natural beauty and talents, and with three other children tugging on your skirts, you will not be able to give her the undivided attention she requires." Grandpa Joe was almost laughing as he was talking, especially when he looked at George. "Go ahead George, show your wife."
George had an expression of stunned disbelief. He emptied his coat pockets, his sweater pockets, pants pockets and a large velvet bag he carried with him. "Apparently, this is Margaret's dowry." Grandpa Joe broke into hearty laughter.
The coffee table in the Darling parlor was covered in priceless jewels of every shape and color. Expensive necklaces, broaches, bracelets and earrings, every piece of jewelry worth value Aunt Millicent had to offer. There was even the tiara Mary remembered from her own childhood. Millicent spanked her for playing with it when she was five. She still remembered the tongue-lashing she got. "These stones are real, do you know how many loaves of bread your father would have to sell to replace one diamond chip on this crown!"
George continued. "She said she will bring Margaret by every day to spend time with Wendy and the boys, but more Wendy than John and Michael. They will have their etiquette lessons together and Aunt Millicent said she will be buying both Margaret's party dresses as well as Wendy's from now on," George managed, still stunned by Millicent's unprecedented generosity. "It seems she wants to adopt Margaret from us. She wants to change Margaret's last name from Darling to Davis. I had no idea Aunt Millicent's last name was Davis." By now he sounded dumbfounded.
"What did you think her last name was, George?" Mary asked, just as perplexed by her Aunt's request.
"Baker. That's the name on all her accounts," George answered.
"Yes, sweetheart, Baker is her maiden name. I understand what you mean; she has not used Davis since I was a small girl, right after her husband died. I'm a little befuddled as to why she would go back to using it now."
Grandpa Joe solved the mystery. "Because she wants Margaret to be her daughter, and she cannot have a child of her own without being married. What would the neighbors think? When someone asks Margaret, as a young lady when she is courted, who her father was, she will say the former Mr. Davis," Grandpa Joe declared, understanding. Both Mary and George nodded their heads to one another and rolled their eyes at the formalities Aunt Millicent still insisted upon. "She says she will send papers over in the morning," Grandpa Joe told her as he went to his room.
"But what of us? We don't want Margaret to think we don't want her," Mary voiced her misgivings to George, who sat in an armchair lost in his own thoughts, blinded by the gems staring at him on the coffee table.
"I don't think that will be a problem, Aunt Millicent already had the poor girl calling her 'mother'," Grandpa Joe responded from the top of the stairs.
Mary looked to her husband who removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes questioning aloud, "I wonder what her neighbors will think?"