Christmas Child: an absolutely heartbreaking and emotional Victorian romance Read online

  One day, on a rare escape from the house, as Ettie walked to the market, two figures stepped out from the alley.

  ‘Ettie O’Reilly, where have you been all this time?’ Gwen enfolded Ettie in a warm embrace. A scented cloud of aniseed wafted around her as she tossed back her mop of golden hair. Her pale skin and blonde hair made a startling contrast to Lily’s Latin looks. They both wore their colourful dresses with shawls tucked loosely around their shoulders.

  ‘I’ve been meaning to call but I’ve been busy,’ Ettie explained.

  ‘How boring!’ Gwen studied her closely. ’Are you a slave to this mistress of yours?’

  Ettie didn’t think it was right to talk about her employer’s private affairs. ‘Mrs Benjamin has delicate health,’ she said after some hesitation.

  Lily’s pretty nose wrinkled. ‘That job wouldn’t suit me. I’d faint at the sight of blood!’

  Ettie smiled. ‘There’s no blood, Lily. I’m more of a … a companion.’

  ‘So, when are you coming to see us again?’ Gwen demanded.

  ‘Oh, that might not be for some time, I’m afraid.’

  ‘And we thought you liked us,’ wailed Lily slinking her arm around Ettie's waist. ‘Our little sister.’

  ‘Oh, I do like you,’ Ettie insisted. ‘I’ve never forgotten our afternoon together.’

  ‘Then don’t leave it too long to visit us again.’

  ‘I won’t.’

  ‘You’ve missed a kiss from Gino,’ Gwen giggled. ‘He’s gone to Europe again to flex those muscles in the cirque.’

  Ettie said quietly, ‘He must be very famous.’

  Gwen and Lily broke into laughter, hugging her and kissing her cheeks. ‘How sweet and innocent you are, little beauty.’

  ‘Now, remember, come soon. A girl’s got to have some fun,’ Lily whispered. ‘Or else you’ll be an old maid. You wouldn’t want that would you?’

  Ettie shook her head firmly.

  ‘My little beauty,’ Gwen purred. ‘We’ll drink the green fairy and dance away the hours!’

  ‘Goodbye little sister,’ said Lily.

  Ettie knew that it might be some while before she saw her friends again. Clara relied on her so much. Ettie felt like the mother and Clara her child.

  It was early in June when Lucas closed the blinds of the salon and called Ettie from the kitchen.

  ‘I have arrived at a decision,’ he informed her. ‘The decision of a desperate man.’

  Ettie’s heart lurched. What could Lucas have in mind?

  ‘I am taking Clara to Europe,’ he explained. ‘I have heard from some of my gentlemen that miraculous cures have resulted from such a trip.’

  Ettie felt a wave of fear. ‘Sir, do you think she is well enough to travel?’

  ‘Indeed not, my dear Ettie,’ he agreed. ‘But I can no longer bear to see her sitting day after day, gazing into the fire. I must give her food for thought, breathe vigour into her bright and clever brain which has fallen into the deepest of slumber. I must wake her up!’

  Ettie clasped her hands together anxiously. ‘When will you go, Sir?’

  ‘By the time I have arranged our trip it will be September. Leaving a cold and damp England behind can only be of value to my darling wife.’

  Perhaps Lucas was right, Ettie thought hopefully. The damp and foggy weather of London would not help at all.

  ‘Unfortunately, our tour will require all our savings. A considerable fortune. But the hardest news,’ he mumbled, glancing at Ettie from the corner of his eye, ‘is that the salon must close. We shall be away until spring and there is no one to replace me.’

  Ettie looked sadly at her employer. How could she help him?

  ‘Sir, could you teach me to sell tobacco?’ she asked innocently.

  ‘What?’ Lucas jumped, his mouth twitching. ‘You – a female? And a child at that!’

  ‘I shall be fifteen at Christmas,’ Ettie replied boldly. ‘And it was your mother who continued the business after your father’s death.’

  ‘That is true,’ Lucas agreed. ‘But Mama understood the trade from years of experience.’

  ‘I could learn, Sir. I am sure I could,’ Ettie insisted.

  As was his custom, he pushed his hand through his wiry hair and sighed. ‘My gentlemen are sometimes difficult, even arrogant. They are rambunctious even with me. What humiliation they might put you through.’ He paused, blushing. ‘Forgive my forthrightness, but you are hardly equipped to bargain with men of the world.’ Nervously, he gasped in a breath. His two large front teeth showed under a tight grimace. ‘I could not ask it of you; too much to learn, to absorb, even for a mature student.’

  ’Then put me to the test, Sir,’ Ettie suggested. ‘If I cannot learn to your liking, then nothing is lost, save your time.’

  ‘And Clara? We cannot abandon her,’ Lucas remonstrated. ’She needs our attention.’

  ‘I could assist you while Mrs Benjamin rests,’ Ettie offered. ‘In the evenings we might join her by the fire whilst you instruct me on my studies.’

  Lucas stared; his blue eyes thoughtful. ‘I don’t know what to say. Your plan is so ambitious that I am hardly able to answer.’

  ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken. It’s time I cooked supper.’ Ettie turned to leave, but Lucas grasped her arm.

  ‘Please, stay.’ His eyes filled with tears. ‘I am so low, Ettie. Any word of kindness only reduces me to a wreck – a snivelling fool.’

  ‘You are not a fool, Sir. You are a good and generous man.’

  He mopped his cheeks with a crumpled handkerchief.

  ‘Oh, Ettie, what have I done to deserve your kindness?’

  ‘Let’s join Mrs Benjamin and discuss matters.’

  ‘Yes, yes, let us do that.’

  Ettie followed Lucas to the drawing room where they took their seats by Clara and the fire.

  ‘My dear,’ said Lucas gently, patting his wife’s hand, ‘we have had an excellent idea. And that is, you and I shall take a holiday. Our dear Ettie has offered to take care of the salon. A great challenge for one so young, but with a little tuition … ’ He stopped, as Clara began to cough.

  When the fit was over, Clara managed a strange smile. ‘If you say so, Lucas.’

  Ettie knew her mistress was lost in a depression and no one could reach her, not even Lucas.

  ‘Good, good, my dear. A change of scenery will be beneficial for us both.’

  After supper that evening, Lucas brought his papers from the salon. He arranged them on the dining room table. As Clara rested drowsily in her chair, he showed Ettie the colourful illustrations of the many tobaccos imported from around the world.

  ’Sir, it seems I know very little,’ Ettie confessed. ‘Only that Christopher Columbus discovered it.’

  ‘Columbus? Why, yes!’ Lucas exclaimed. His face suddenly came alight. ‘What a conqueror he was! Do you know that his intention was to discover all the sea routes to the Far East?’

  ‘No, Sir, I did not.’

  ‘Imagine his excitement when he found the leaves being smoked by the Indians of the Americas. How wonderful that day must have been!’ He threw up his hands enthusiastically. ‘Gradually the word spread to the rest of the world. Trade was embarked upon. The merchants of old knew that money could be made from its special properties. From Egypt and Turkey came even more succulent and satisfying flavours.’

  ‘And the salon has them all?’ Ettie enquired.

  ‘Oh, yes, yes, my dear. We do indeed. Great quantities are shipped in by our suppliers at Tobacco Dock. Grandfather built up the connection and business flourished under Papa. Our customers come from far and wide to sample our stock. Hence the convenience of our smoking room. It is considered a luxury to recline in our chairs and inhale the flavours, roll them on the tongue and taste history in one breath!’

  Ettie had never heard him talk this way. It was as if he was possessed by his passion. She listened, enraptured.

  ‘What hurts the most,’ he conf
ided, glancing at his wife, ‘is that if someone took this pleasure away from me, I would be in anguish! And that is what I have done to Clara.’

  ‘But Sir,’ Ettie protested, ‘the drug was harmful.’

  ‘Yes, I am fully aware of that.’ His head drooped and he sighed, reaching out to hold Clara’s hand in his.

  Ettie felt her heart squeeze with pity for this kind man who so loved his wife.

  Chapter 16

  As each day passed, Lucas taught Ettie more about his beloved tobacco, introducing her to the customers as his assistant. To Ettie's relief, this did not cause much alarm. He showed her how to weigh and display the stock under the glass on the midnight blue velvet cloths. He explained how, during the Crimean War, British soldiers acquired the taste for Turkish tobacco from their allies and how the first English cigarette factory was opened by one of these venerated war veterans. His face took on a glow when he explained how Bond Street, so famous for its select stores, threw open its doors to customers in search of brand new varieties of tobacco. And how in 1876 the salon had won trade with the most notable manufacturer of all, Benson & Hedges. After a handful of years, a certificate of excellence had followed, endorsed by dukes and archdukes of the kingdom, clerics and lords, politicians and celebrities alike.

  ‘That certificate is preserved on the back of Mama’s portrait,’ he explained as he read from his precious diary. ‘Hence the painting now hangs in the dining room, and reminds me each day it was Mama who put food on the table, Mama who had courage enough to prosper the business. But I hold out no expectations for Clara in the business for she is in such a delicate condition.’ He paused, his voice containing a soft sigh as he added regretfully, ‘and with no heir to take over the business, I cannot predict the future after I am gone.’

  ‘Sir, that is a very long time off.’

  He looked at her and suddenly laughed. ‘Yes, of course it is Ettie. I’m a chap who enjoys rude health and expect to continue for many years yet.’

  It was clear to Ettie that Lucas had been very fond of his Mama and that poor Clara seemed to have paled in her shadow when it came to business matters. But in every other way, Ettie could see that her employer worshipped the ground his wife walked on.

  ‘I have a suggestion,’ Lucas said suddenly, returning the diary to the shelf. ‘Let us run through a few figures of an evening. I’ll try you on your numbers and see what you come up with.’

  ‘Sir, I would like that.’

  And therefore, in the evenings they would sit with Clara in the cool of the house. Lucas would test Ettie in sums of addition, multiplication, division and subtraction. Her answers were swift and mostly accurate.

  ‘Heaven’s above!’ Lucas would gasp. ‘Unbelievable.’

  Very soon Ettie could list all the income and outgoings of the business. While her head was bent over the ledgers, Lucas walked Clara to the green close by. The short outing seemed to revive Clara’s spirits and Ettie began to enjoy her new role as Lucas’s assistant.

  After just one month, Ettie had memorized the many varieties of snuff, pipes, cigars, cigarillos and cigarettes. Each day as Clara rested, she stood behind Lucas, attentively listening to the top-hatted gentlemen who arrived from their clubs.

  ‘Now, I shall show you a secret,’ Lucas said one morning before business opened. He reached up to pull a tiny lever set below a shelf. A wooden panel in the wall creaked open to reveal a large black, cast-iron chest. He took a heavy key from under a loose floorboard and inserted it into the lock. The lid creaked open. Inside were leather-bound money bags, each stacked neatly in line. ‘Our safe,’ he explained. ‘Feel the weight.’ He dropped a bag into Ettie’s palm.

  ‘It is heavy, Sir,’ Ettie agreed.

  ‘Should be. It’s full of silver.’

  Ettie quickly returned it.

  ‘Don’t worry, I trust you, Ettie.’ He closed the chest, locked it and returned the key to its hiding place.

  ‘The panel won’t open unless it’s operated by the lever.’

  ‘Yes, Sir.’

  ‘Each week you will pay yourself wages from here.’

  ‘But, Sir …’

  He held up his hand to silence her. ’It’s true you receive board and keep, Ettie. But now we must make a commercial arrangement. You, as my capable salon assistant – who has passed her test of numbers with flying colours – shall be paid five shillings each month. Are you agreeable?’

  Ettie’s mouth fell open.

  ‘Good. We are agreed.’

  Ettie attempted to protest that she would gladly become his assistant for no profit at all. But Lucas ignored this and the contract was made, giving her the responsibility of the salon in his absence and of keeping the chest and its contents safe, in return for the wage she would earn in her new capacity as his assistant.

  From that moment on, Ettie took her new role very seriously. She paid attention to every word that Lucas spoke. Before the working day began, he would select a cigar, remove its wrapper and draw it slowly under his nose.

  ‘Cuban, of superior quality. Strong. Untamed. A hot, sun-bleached landscape. A trek through equatorial hills. Now, you try, Ettie.’

  Since she had never visited any equatorial hills, Ettie put her imagination to work. She closed her eyes and breathed in the pungent aroma. ‘The smell reminds me of the market. How on a damp day the rain soaks the vegetables and the earth falls away from their roots.’

  Lucas threw back his head and chuckled.

  ‘Excellent, Ettie. Excellent! But perhaps “market” might be turned to “jungle” where our gentlemen adventurers might bag a lion or elephant, reminding them of their great achievements. Inflate their egos and they’ll grab the cigar right out of your hand!’

  Ettie made a mental note to follow Lucas’s instructions although she wasn’t certain what an inflated ego might be.

  ‘You are a quick learner,’ he encouraged her. ‘But tell me honestly, what is your true opinion of our tobaccos?’

  ‘I find their aromas quite pleasant,’ Ettie declared.

  ‘Hah!’ he exclaimed in delight. ‘My gentlemen will wish their wives offered such an opinion! Did you know that some men are exiled to the smoking rooms of their houses? They are looked on as a nuisance and not the great heroes and globetrotters they imagine themselves to be. And so, they smoke at their clubs in the company of friends, who reinforce their confidence. Mind Ettie, our courageous champions must also partake of the finest brandy to keep up the glow of success! Therefore, I shall fill the decanters in our smoking room to the brim!’ He gave her a hearty pat on the shoulder.

  ‘Yes, Sir. And I shall make certain the decanters are always full.’

  ‘Well done, Ettie, well done! You so remind me of Mama. She was the only woman I have ever met who shares your appreciation of tobacco. Did I tell you of the day when a royal courtier came into the shop?’

  Though Ettie had heard this story before, she always shook her head for Lucas loved to tell it.

  ‘The courtier smoked at least four of our best cigars,’ he would say proudly. ‘The man created a smog so thick that even a veteran smoker might find it challenging. But Mama just smiled in her calm way and was rewarded with a substantial order, not to mention a certificate of excellence from the esteemed manufacturers, Benson & Hedges. What do you say to that?’

  ’I am astonished, Sir.’

  ’And so you might be. Remember, select your words carefully. Butter up the good gentlemen. As for the monthly reordering of stock and alcohol, I shall speak to the Tobacco Dock Company and the wine merchant. Instruct them to send their invoices to the Bank of England’s accountant for payment whilst the money you lock in the chest will safely accrue.’

  ‘Yes, Sir, I shall see to it.’

  ‘Then we are settled on all details!’ exclaimed Lucas delightedly. ‘I am very relieved to know that you have accepted my offer as paid member of staff of the establishment of Lucas Benjamin, tobacconist of Silver Street.’

  Chapter
17

  ‘Clara must have new clothes,’ Lucas declared one hot day in early August. He had just returned from the agents with tickets for the ferry crossing. Mopping his brow with his handkerchief, he collapsed onto a chair. ‘We may be buffeted by wind or a strong sea as we sail from Dover. A warm cape will be essential. As for dresses – I must leave the choices to you. Spare no expense.’ He gave a little grin and tucked the tickets in the bureau. ‘We depart on Sunday 15th September, taking a carriage from London to Dover. After a night’s rest we board ship for Calais.’

  Thus, the problem of Clara’s new clothes was left in Ettie's hands. Since she had no idea where to start, she visited a dressmaker she had seen on her way to the market. It took her only a few minutes to walk to Broad Street and, after discussions with a portly woman called Mrs Buckle, a winter braided jacket, cape and warm coat and undergarments with combinations were ordered. The dressmaker also advised at least two to three day and evening dresses and at least one walking dress.

  ‘How long will your employer and his wife be away?’ Mrs Buckle asked.

  ‘Until next year,’ Ettie explained as she sat in the sewing room studying the pretty silks, wools and cottons from which Clara’s clothes might be cut.

  ‘In that case, you must make a trip to the city for bonnets, muffs, gloves and other things a lady might need. I shall give you a letter to give to a milliner. The shop sells the accessories your mistress requires. Except of course, footwear. The boot mender’s shop is in the same row. Take a shoe with you so that he can measure up.’ Ettie was relieved to have found someone like Mrs Buckle to advise her.

  After informing Lucas of Mrs Buckle’s suggestions, Ettie was sent by carriage to the city. They passed the stately houses and green parks she remembered on her ride through the city after she had left the orphanage. A lump lodged in her throat. Six long months had elapsed since she had said goodbye to the orphans and nuns. Longer even, since she had seen Michael. Her heart gave a little twist. Where was he now? Did he still think of her? She had prayed to Saint Jude every Sunday, begging him to look after Michael and keep him out of trouble. For if ever there was an impossible case, it was Michael. But for all that, he still held a place in her heart that would never be filled by anyone else.