Chapter 7

Days turned into months. Months turned into years. Anthony and Johanna had done everything they possibly could to find their run away daughter. They both traveled to London three weeks after Olivia ran away, even though Johanna begged to stay once to twice, but decided braving the trip would be worth it if they found her.

They talked to the constables of London, though they were all very spread out. They hired a street sketch artist to make five copies of Olivia's face which they hung around five major places in London, hoping that the number of people flowing through those streets would be enough to get some answers. And for the first year or two, Anthony would take time to ride to London and just slowly comb the streets for his daughter. After a while however, hope began to die. They both started to come to terms with the fact they would never see their daughter again- that she was in a better place now. Afterall, there is no way a twelve year old girl could survive without somewhere to go for that long... However, that's when the dreams started.

Everynight when Johanna would start to drift into sleep, she would see a girl who looked like an older version of Olivia standing in moonlight, with a lovely smile on her face. But slowly the smile would melt away into a blank stare; and as her smile melted, the gold color of her hair seemed to fade into a deep black, like a midnight shadow. And then she would fall, and just lie there, motionless while a red-colored figure would stand over her.

At first these dreams frightened Johanna, and they would reoccure once every month. Eventually however, she began to realize that it was probably just her paranoia as a mother who just lost her only daughter. The pain that came with these visions hurt badly at first, much like someone was stabbing her in the chest. But eventually they became more of a sore bruise; a bruise which she never told her husband about.

In London, Mrs. Jenkins began to teach Olivia the ways of the Earth; how to heal, how to protect, how to project one's will into matter, how to remain balanced in all areas of life, and how to live with her new knowledge. She also trained Olivia to see the "colors" of all living things, as well as the colors of spirits. Though it wasn't Olivia's strongest subject, she was able to barely make out slivers of color around objects. She also grew more accustomed to talking with the ghost that guarded her. Although he would never tell her his name or who he was, or why he guarded her; he did assure her that he was a friend, and meant her no harm; which she did believe- after all, he could take over her body at will. If he wanted to harm her in any way, he could have done so by now. Olivia grew into a fine young lady, and as she aged, Mrs. Jenkins did as well. And as she aged, her health slowly started to deteriorate; she had almost lost a battle with pnumonia two winters earlier- and thanks to Olivia's training with herbal medicine she was able to pull through, though she never regained her previous vigor and strength. And with her health and age, she became unable to deliver babies. Olivia, who had taken it upon herself to be Mrs. Jenkin's personal nurse, also too it upon herself to find some source of income to support both herself and the elderly Mrs. Jenkins. Unfortunately, she still wasn't trained enough to be a midwife herself and there were no really well paying, steady jobs for women; only for men.

"Olivia... I'm not sure this will work..." Mrs. Jenkins said as she helped wrap a long cloth band around Olvia's chest, waist and hips. "But it's the only way we'll have steady money coming in," Olivia said as she spun around, making it easier for Mrs. Jenkins to bind her.

"All I'm saying is I'm not so sure you'll pass for a man, Olivia..."

Olivia stopped spining for a moment and smiled at her teacher. "Luckally nature was kind to me by not fully endowing me. So unless I have to work topless, I should be just fine."

"But what of your hair, Olivia? It's so long... And your friend doesn't like it cut..."

It was true- her hair had gotten quite long over the five years she had stayed with Mrs. Jenkins. Everytime they had tried to cut it, it had grown back the night before. It had scared Mrs. Jenkins and Olivia terribly- but whoever-it-was who was watching over Olivia told her he made it grow back, and that he prefered her to have long, yellow hair. "Not to worry, Mrs. Jenkins-" Olivia said, "I found a cap that compeatly conceals my hair as long as I pull it up correctly... This plan is perfect, and there's no way it will fail..."

Later, Olivia set out with a pale of water, soap, and rags in her back pockets. She had come to discover that window washing was a very necessary thing for many shops in London, and only the really popular ones insisted they have their windows cleaned regularly- so there was always money. And she didn't even mind the work- even when it got hot she got to work with cool water; where was the down side? Also, there was always a personal satisfaction she felt whenever she cleaned a window. She had a personal philosophy that the eyes were the windows to the soul- and so, since shops and places of business where the heart and soul of the business owners, the windows where like their eyes. If no one could see into what lay beyond someone's windows, it usually pushed away good business, much as it pushes someone away if your eyes aren't clear and easy to read. So, Olivia always found it satisfying when she cleaned windows from shops- it was like she could cleanse and clear out some of the uncertainty patrons would feel from not being able to see beyond the glass. Clarification was always something she loved above all else- when things made sense and were easy to read, she felt at peace.

She set out on the streets of London, looking for dirty windows, and willing shop owners. After cleaning two shop's window fronts, she found an open bench on a street corner and took a small break. As she gazed around at the people busteling by, she still was amazed that she lived in London- dispite some of the nastier qualities of the city, it really was a beautiful place to be. She watched as a few well dressed women walked by. They wore beautiful dresses that both seemed to glitter in the sunshine. They also had bussles and wonderful trains. Absolutely wonderful... Olivia thought, smiling to herself, It would be absolutely wonderful to have a dress like that...

Olivia... The strange voice called out inside her mind. She sat up, trying to hear it- it was very faint today.

Yes? She thought in reply.

Olivia, look across the street. There, to your right- do you see that building?

Olivia looked to her right. Across the way from where she watched the two women pass was a fairly normal looking building. The front was composed mainly of windows; all of which were horribly dirty. Above the lower windows were chipping letters that must have at one time proudly proclaimed the name of the establishment. Now they were so faded and chipped it was almost impossible to read. Above the name of the building, was the roof; and on the roof was a large panel of more windows- she guessed there must be a loft up there, as there were also stairs leading up the side of building. She gazed at the windows on the roof- there weren't many buildings in London with a set up like that. In fact, she couldn't really think of any she had ever seen that had a panel of windows on a roof. "Wow...!" She said under her breath. "I bet you could see most of London from there..."

She then saw the front doors of the building open, and out walked a young man with a bucket in one hand, and a ladder under his other arm. He made his way over to the front windows and climbed the ladder with the bucket. From the bucket he pulled out a paint brush and began painting something over the chipping paint.

Olivia, go offer your services to this man... Those windows are very dirty, are they not...?

"Yeah, your right..." Olivia said quietly. She stood with her own bucket and made her way over to the dirty shop. As she made her way over, she thought she saw something flickering under the ladder. And the closer she got, she realized that there was a fire right under the ladder, and the man wasn't even aware of it! "Oh my-- Sir!" She shouted out, dashing over to the ladder, her bucket at the ready. But just as she was about to throw the water, the fire faded. There wasn't even a scorch mark from where it had burned just seconds before. "Can I help you...?" The man's voice asked, somewhat annoyed by her display of un-needed and unidentifiable bravery. She looked up at him, her eyes as wide and confused as a doe's eyes, but he just painted on, not even bothering to look down. "I... I'm sorry, I... thought I saw a fire..." She said quietly. She then cleared her throat and took advantage of where she stood and continued on her quest for work. "Excuse me, Sir," Olivia called up the painting man, trying to conceal her voice by making it sound deeper than it actually was, "I noticed your windows are quite grubby- if you wouldn't mind, I'll wash them all, even the upper ones for one pound; what do you say?"

The man never looked down at her, but rather kept painting as he replyed, "Well... Business must be quite tight if you want to help out a shop on Fleet Street..."

"Excuse me, sir?" Olivia asked, a little confused as to what he meant.

"And you'd have to be very pressed for money if you want to help this spot..."

"What's wrong with this place? It has a good little feel to it," Olivia pressed. Actually, it was odd but she did feel a bit compelled by this building; like she was meant to be at this building. Finally the man looked down at her with a serious expression on his handsome, almost angelic face. "Don't you feel the least bit apprehensive about this building? I mean, aren't you aware of this place...?"

Olivia slowly gazed at the building, noticing more about it now that she was beside it than she had when she was farther away. The outside of it seemed very old and weathered, like no one had been to this location for who knew how long. The stairs on the side looked very rickety and unstable, not to mention the wood was grey and splintering. The shingles on the roof were all coming off. It looked like it hadn't been used for years.

"I... I don't know what this place is, sir... I'm sorry to disappoint you..." she said, trying hard to keep her voice as boyish as possible.

"Huh," the man said, putting his brush in the bucket, "I thought everyone in all of Europe would have heard of Mrs. Lovette's Pie Shop by now..."

"Like I said, I'm not aware of it..." Olivia said again. "Now sir, if your trying to re-open this shop, I will cut you quite the deal on the window washing. I am quite skilled with glass you see, and I-"

"I would appreciate the help, but not while your wearing that ridiculous outfit... Attractive women should dress as women, not as men..." he said as he made his way down the ladder to stand before her. Olivia felt her jaw drop at his statement, but she quickly recovered her compossure and looked at him in the eye as she spoke. "I assure you sir, I am no woman! Women can't clean windows like men can! Like I can!"

He moved toward her and she backed up slightly. "You know, I used to have to wear disguises... It's the worst form of conning there is- not to mention compleatly obvious on most accounts..." he continued as he moved closer. Before she could move far enough away from him however, he caught her chin with one finger and she froze in place. He lifted her chin until her gaze met his. "Now, you honestly don't expect me to forget such beautiful, velvety grey eyes, do you?" He smiled at her and she felt her heart skip a few beats. "I'm suprised you didn't recognize me. Though, it has been a while since we've seen one another, right?"

Suddenly it dawned on Olivia whose dark eyes she was staring into. "T-Toby?!" She asked, feeling her pulse race. He just smiled and chuckled. "Well, you did grow up to be quite the young lady, didn't you...?"

"Th-thank you..." She stammered. Olivia! The voice in her mind cried out, Don't forget- you need this job! Don't go soft- get the job!

"Alright, fine," she grumbled under her breath. "What was that?" Toby asked, slightly confused by her odd behavior. "Oh, it's nothing," she said nonchalantly, "But honestly Toby, I do need a job... It's to help out Mrs. Jenkins, you see..."

Toby nodded, "Yes... She is getting older, isn't she...? How old is she now...?"

"She turned 78 on Wednesday," Olivia answered. "I see... I don't imagine she's a midwife anymore... What with her fight with that sickness and all..."

"How did you know about that..?" Olivia asked, amazed that he was aware of her illness when she hadn't even seen him since the day she met him.

"Oh, I have my ways... Well," he said finally, "I do need help re-opening this place, and you need money, so let's you and I be partners. I'll be your boss while I'm rebuilding, and once it's opened, I'll let you work here still. That way you don't have to go out and find other work."

"Toby that would be amazing!" Olivia said, feeling like she wanted to jump around like a rabbit. "Thank you so much!"

"I'm doing this for Mrs. Jenkins," he said simply. "If I had my way I wouldn't even be considering hireing you for remodeling- a girl like yourself should be parading around town like those two ladies there," he said as he pointed to the two ladies in the fancy dresses who had stopped in a neighboring shop. "Now, be here tomorrow- we have some work to do."