Title: Rape II
Artist: Wilhelm Lehmbruck
Date: 1911
Medium: Drypoint
Phyllis arrived in London the next afternoon and quickly made her way from the train station to her daughter's flat. It had been nearly three years since she'd been here, her trip to help Elizabeth settle in for school being her first and last visit up until now.
From the outside the building looked the same as she remembered it, but as soon as she entered it was apparent that any regular upkeep was minimal at best. The air was damp and cold and when she caught a whiff of mold in the air she had half a mind to tell off the landlady about health and safety until she remembered she might need her cooperation.
Hopeful that that wouldn't be the case, Phyllis quickly made her way up the stairs to the fourth floor where she found the door cracked open. Taking a deep breath she moved to the door to push it open further only to find Elizabeth's flat as empty as it had been the day she'd arrived.
After a brief sweep of the flat to ensure her daughter hadn't left anything behind that might tell her where she'd gone, Phyllis quickly made her way back down the stairs in search of Mrs. Mullins, her daughter's landlady.
Though she'd never been to the landlady's office, it was easy enough to find. The small room was located just off the landing at the front entrance of the building and the slightly open door bore a large ornate plaque with Mrs. Roberta Mullins engraved into the center of it in large block letters.
Phllyis knocked on the doorframe before pushing the door open further to reveal a stout woman with harsh features sitting behind a desk as she combed through a pile of envelopes to remove the bank notes before tossing the remainder of the contents in the bin. When she received no recognition she coughed lightly before asking, "Excuse me ma'am, are you by chance Mrs. Mullins?"
"Who's asking?" The woman replied, not looking up from the task in front of her.
"My name is Phyllis Molesley and I'm looking for my daughter, Elizabeth Molesley." Phyllis maintained her composure as she stepped into the room. "It was my understanding she was boarding here, but her flat appears to be empty."
"She was." The woman confirmed with a sneer. "Kicked her out near a couple weeks ago though. A right pain in my side that one was."
Phyllis was so caught off guard by the hatred in the woman's revelation that all she could manage was a quiet, "I beg your pardon?"
"She got behind on the rent and no one stays here for free." Mrs. Mullins rolled her eyes dismissively. "Besides, I don't want any girls of her sort 'round my place. I've a reputation to uphold you know."
"That's not like Elizabeth at all." Phyllis shook her head in disagreement. "Is she alright?"
"Don't know, don't care." Mrs. Mullins clipped tiredly before pointing to a haphazard pile in the corner of her office. "She gave me this junk to supposedly offset the costs of what she owed me, but I don't know what I'm meant to do with a pile of worthless shit like that."
"I can assure you that those supplies are far from worthless." Phyllis tried to hide her shock at the sight of her daughter's most prized possessions sitting abandoned in this woman's office. "How much did my daughter owe you?"
"Thirty-two pounds." Mrs. Mullins replied angrily. "That girl should be off to prison for thevin' like that."
Phyllis shuddered inwardly at the parts of her past those words brought to the forefront before quickly shaking it off and focusing on the task at hand. "Those supplies more than cover the cost." She explained patiently, ignoring the accusations against her daughter in favor of trying to recover Elizabeth's belongings. "However, it's clear you have no use for them. Would you consider allowing me to pay you the overdue board in exchange for my daughter's things?"
"Make it forty pounds and you've a deal." Mrs. Mullins countered instantly.
"I have fifteen with me now." Phyllis replied slowly, carefully calculating how much of the money in her pocketbook she could spare while securing herself, and possibly Elizabeth, a place to stay as well as their travel back to Downton if necessary. "I can write you a check for the remainder of the balance."
Mrs. Mullins scoffed indignantly at the proposal. "So you can go off with your grifter daughter while I'm left with nothing to show for her tenancy but her bad reputation."
"I can assure you the check will cash." Phyllis replied evenly though her mind continued to puzzle at the woman's obvious disdain for her daughter. "I am currently working as a seamstress in my village and before that I served as lady's maid to the late Dowager Countess of Grantham Cora Crawley for decades. My husband is the headmaster of the Downton Village School. We are far from grifters, I simply don't have that amount with me today in notes. I expect you would understand that that is entirely reasonable."
"What about that ring?" Her shaking hand pointed towards Phyllis's wedding ring. "Leave it with me for assurance and the things your daughter left are yours to take."
"The ring is of only sentimental value - a family heirloom passed down from a country gardener and his wife to my husband." Phyllis replied honestly, though she clenched her left hand somewhat protectively around the ring in question. "The clothes on my back are worth far more than it is."
"I'll take your coat then." Mrs. Mullins replied with a smirk. "And that hat."
Phyllis sighed but nodded in agreement, quickly emptying the pockets of her coat into the suitcase at her feet before folding it carefully and placing it on the desk in front of her along with the matching light blue pillbox hat she had purchased just a month prior. "The coat and the hat." She pushed them forward slightly before reaching into the bag at her feet once more to produce three five pound notes and her checkbook. "Along with fifteen pounds and a check for the remaining twenty-five pounds my daughter owes you."
Mrs. Mullin's took her time examining the coat and hat, grinning up at the other woman only briefly before feigning a concerned expression and asking, "What am I meant to do if the check doesn't cash?"
Phyllis reached across the desk to take a loose sheet of paper and a pencil that she quickly began to scrawl with. "This is my full name, address, and phone number as well as the names and addresses of mine and my husband's most recent employers." She explained shortly, her patience now wearing thin. "Should you have any trouble with the check I can assure you you'll have no difficulty tracking me down."
"A pleasure doing business with you Mrs. Molesley." Mrs. Mullins stood to take the paper and folded it twice before tucking it down into the opening at the top of her blouse while pointing to the pile of Elizabeth's things as she headed for the door. "I'll thank you to get this junk out of my office before I return."
Phyllis waited until the door slammed shut behind the other woman before crossing the room to sort through what seemingly remained of her daughter's belongings. At first glance it seemed impossible that this was what was left, but she knew from experience how quickly someone's life could be reduced to the contents of a single bag.
As she carefully folded the clothes left in the pile her heart sank at how much smaller her daughter's wardrobe was than she knew it had been when she'd helped Elizabeth pack her things for London. It was when she moved onto the scattered remains of her daughter's art supplies that her tears snuck to the surface.
She took her time organizing the pile, taking her time to examine each item, in particular focusing on carefully packing up the paints and brushes that had been carelessly tossed on the ground back into the mahogany case Joseph had ordered for Elizabeth from Paris just over two years ago when they'd found out she'd gotten into the fine arts masters program at The Royal College of Art in London.
The case was clearly broken beyond repair, but Phyllis did what she could before securing it in it's leather case and attaching the collapsible easel to its side. Once she was sure she'd gathered everything in her suitcase and the backpack she stood up and secured her daughter's art supplies on her back before picking up her own bag in one hand and Elizabeth's blue suitcase in the other.
It wasn't until then that she realized she had no clue where to go from there.
If Elizabeth had been out of her flat for weeks as Mrs. Mullins claimed there was no telling where she could be staying now. As she sifted through the possibilities she had the brief thought of checking at Johnny Bates's building before remembering that his sublet of a room in a men's housing unit wouldn't have allowed her daughter to stay at all, even for a temporary visit, not to mention several weeks.
After running through everything else she knew about her daughter's life in London she realized the only other place she knew she was likely to eventually find her daughter was at her school and she quickly reviewed the mental route from her daughter's flat to her school that she'd taken with Elizabeth many times when she'd first moved to London before heading out of the building to make the journey herself.
When Phyllis arrived at the college she once again was faced with the now exhausting realization that she had no clue where to go from here. She'd briefly considered going inside and asking after her, but she knew that Elizabeth wouldn't appreciate having her personal problems aired around her classmates so she'd instead settled for waiting on a bench outside the main entrance with the hope that she'd catch her daughter either coming or going.
Her hopes had dimmed considerably as the unseasonably warm winter afternoon faded to a brisk evening that had her rethinking her decision to leave her coat behind as collateral for Elizabeth's things.
Phyllis was reading herself to give up for the day and try again tomorrow when a small woman hurriedly rushed out of the front doors, their shoulders hunched dramatically as she turned sharply to the right towards where Phyllis knew the nearest tube station was.
The girl was around the same size as Elizabeth, but in the dark she couldn't tell much else. She knew it was a long shot, and she knew it, but she wouldn't forgive herself if she hadn't tried so she stood quickly and called out, "Elizabeth?"
She immediately knew it was her when her head instantly snapped back towards her but her identification was confirmed when she heard her daughter's voice quietly responding, "Mum?", at a volume she's not sure she could have made out had anyone else been passing by.
"Lizzie." Phyllis repeated her daughter's name more brightly this time which caused her to burst into a sprint towards her before stopping just short of her at the sight of her things.
"Those are my…" Elizabeth shook her head in obvious confusion. "How did you…?"
"I've come from meeting Mrs. Mullins - lovely woman that she is." Phyllis tried joking before sobering entirely when Elizabeth's shoulders began to tremble beneath her quiet sobs. "Love, where are you staying now?"
"Um…" Elizabeth looked down at the pavement nervously, both of her arms immediately crossing against her torso. "I was going to… A woman offered… I'm supposed to meet her…"
It was then that Phyllis noticed her daughter's hand protectively cradling her stomach and the small bump she was clearly trying to hide beneath it. "Oh, Lizzie." She breathed quietly as she tried to find her daughter's gaze. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm sorry." Elizabeth whispered back hoarsely, her head shaking furiously in obvious distress. "You were never supposed to know. I'm meant to get rid of it tonight. Just let me go and—"
"Absolutely not." Phyllis snapped more harshly than she intended, her fear for her daughter's safety overruling her ability to provide her comfort. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, but no I can't let you do that. I understand that you think it will solve your problem but it's just not safe."
When Elizabeth simply stared back at her in horror, Phyllis took a moment to gather herself before laying out an alternative plan. "Tonight you're going to come with me to a hotel and eat a full meal, take a warm bath, and sleep in a clean bed. Everything else can wait until tomorrow. I promise."
"You don't have to do this." Elizabeth managed to whisper softly as her mother handed her her own suitcase. "I can find another place to st–"
"Elizabeth Molesley." Phyllis cut her daughter off immediately. "We are going to get you warm, clean, fed, and rested. This is not up for debate."
The pair stood in silence only a few feet apart for nearly ten minutes before Elizabeth nodded slightly and took her case from her mother's feet signaling her acceptance of the plan and beginning their somewhat aimless journey into the Kensington district of London in search of lodging for the night.
As promised, Phyllis had taken the lead and found them a room to stay in near the train station in a hotel with a small pub on the ground floor. They'd stopped briefly for her to order them both sandwiches and a packet of biscuits that they took up with them to the they'd finished their meal Phyllis ran a bath for her daughter before leaving her to clean up by herself.
Elizabeth was nearly silent throughout the whole affair and it wasn't until Phyllis was in the middle of plaiting her freshly washed hair when she finally blurted out, "Why haven't you asked me anything yet?"
"I wasn't sure if you were ready for me to." Phyllis replied calmly, having expected this outburst from her daughter eventually. "I told you everything other than getting you safe and cared for could wait until tomorrow, and I meant it. But if you'd like to talk about anything now, we certainly can."
Elizabeth's shoulders shrugged slightly beneath her working hands. "I just don't want you to be mad at me."
"I'm not angry with you." Phyllis assured her as she tied off the plait she'd just completed. "I'm concerned, and a bit confused, but not mad or angry."
"I don't know what there is to be confused about." Elizabeth mumbled back with a huff.
"I suppose I'm just feeling a bit blindsided by this." Phyllis gave her shoulder a slight squeeze before she moved to sit next to her on the edge of the bed. "Darling, I didn't even know you were seeing anyone."
"I have been… I guess." Elizabeth informed her with a duck of her head that her mother assumed was hiding a blush.
Phyllis laughed slightly. "I guess?"
"I don't know if I'm seeing him per se?" Elizabeth elaborated softly.
Phyllis raised an eyebrow in amusement as she gestured towards her daughter's stomach. "How did this happen then?"
"I just…I don't… I…" Elizabeth stammered back. "Things just got out of hand so fast. I didn't have time to think about the consequences of any of it."
"Lizzie." Phyllis shook her head in disbelief. "Did your father and I not prepare you for this? I was sure we'd taught you enough to know how to avoid these kinds of consequences if you found that you wanted to move forward physically in a relationship."
"But I didn't!" Elizabeth protested immediately. "I didn't want to! I never wanted it but he wouldn't stop–"
"Oh my God." Phyllis grimaced through the sudden wave of nausea that arose as the now shockingly obvious hints her daughter had given her fell into place. "Elizabeth, I'm so sorry. I never should have assumed–"
"It's okay." Elizabeth shrugged with a small frown. "Everybody else does."
"It is not okay, and it is certainly not your fault." Phyllis disagreed firmly as she moved to kneel in front of her daughter, desperate to undo any harm she may have added to the existing damage with her assumptions. "Do you hear me? It's not your fault, alright?"
Elizabeth stared down at her for a long time before nodding slightly and allowing her mother to take her hands in her own.
"What I don't understand is that it sounds like this has been going on for some time." Phyllis eventually pushed her. "Why didn't you come to us when he first forced you? You know we would have helped you."
Elizabeth just shrugged again, pointedly avoiding looking at her mother by looking at their joined hands as she mumbled. "I don't know."
Phyllis sighed sadly before standing up and moving around the room for some time while Elizabeth continued staring at her lap. She couldn't have said what her mother had been doing until she felt her pressing a fresh cup of tea into her hands as she quietly asked, "How did you meet him?"
"We met on the bus." She responded almost immediately, her eyes glazing over slightly as she began what her mother easily identified as a well-practiced lie. "We rode the same route for a while in the mornings and one day he brought me flowers and asked me on a date to the pictures. Everything just… happened from there."
Phyllis shook her head as she tried to piece together the snippets of the story she believed. "That certainly sounds like you were seeing him to me." She pointed out cautiously. "Not to mention that none of this tells me why you stayed with him if he was hurting you." She gave her daughter several moments to respond before pressing her further. "Did he have something over you?"
Elizabeth stared back at her blankly as she hoarsely whispered, "He was nice. I didn't want to… He… he was nice… he… he was nice ."
"Okay." Phyllis stopped her gently, the shaking of her daughter's voice and body signaling that it was well past time to put a stop to their conversation. "You're okay. You're with your Mum and you're safe."
"He was… he made me… I don't…" Elizabeth was muttering incoherently when Phyllis moved back towards the bed which instantly caused her daughter to launch into her arms. "Please don't make me go back."
"Alright. You don't need to go anywhere you don't feel safe, alright?" Phyllis soothed her daughter as she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders along with her arms. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere tonight and you're not either."
NOTES:
Content Warnings:
Reference to Abuse & Rape/Non-Con; Pregnancy (Pregnant Character, Abortion)
Chapter Recap (Contains Spoilers):
Phyllis arrives in London to find her daughter's flat abandoned. After bargaining with Elizabeth's landlady Phyllis goes to her daughter's school in an attempt to find her. When she does she discovers that her daughter is pregnant and was planning on getting an abortion that evening. She stops her daughter from going and takes her with her to a hotel for the night where she finds out that her daughter's pregnancy was the result of rape.