Lost In Time

by W M Wiltshire

  “That’ll have to wait until tomorrow, William. Let’s call it a day,” Rich said. Before he could protest, Rich continued, “Hang up your apron, Daric. Let’s go. The cab’s waiting.”

  Daric ran behind the bar and hung his apron on a peg. He snatched up his coat and hat, then skirted around the corner of the bar. He turned and bid Mr. Farrow goodnight, then hastily exited the pub before William could utter a protest.

  Daric climbed into the cab and sat beside Rich. He was thankful to finally get off his feet. A grateful sigh escaped his lips as he let his head rest against the padded back of the cab’s seat.

  “Rough day?” Rich asked, laughing good naturedly.

  “You have no idea,” Daric replied. “But I think Mr. Farrow is finally getting used to me.”

  “Don’t get too comfortable there. This is only temporary. You’re much too intelligent to be wasting away in a pub.” Rich had other plans for Daric.

  Daric looked quizzically at Rich, wondering what he had in store for him. But the first thing on his agenda was to check on his sister.

  111

  “You look much better than you did yesterday, or even this morning for that matter,” Daric said, entering Dani’s bedroom and taking a seat.

  “You don’t look so bad yourself,” Dani replied, checking out her brother’s new attire and admiring his handsome appearance in his three-piece suit.

  “Rich and I are about the same size, so he let me borrow some of his clothes,” Daric said, looking down at his fine suit.

  “Someone mention my name?” Rich asked, as he rounded the corner and entered the bedroom. “Just came to see how our other house guest was doing.”

  As soon as Dani got one look at Rich, panic seized her. She frantically tried to crawl away from the approaching figure. Daric knew what was going through his sister’s mind. He reached over, grabbed Dani’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze to get her attention.

  Speaking calmly, Daric said, “Dani, this is Rich, our host. If it weren’t for him, I’d be in jail, and God only knows what would have become of you.” Daric tried to get across to Dani that she was safe and in good hands.

  Dani relaxed as soon as she realizing that Daric didn’t feel alarmed or threatened. When her heart rate had calmed down, she said, “I’m sorry, you startled me for a moment.”

  It hadn’t escaped Rich’s notice that Dani had had the same reaction to his presence as Daric had had the night before.

  “How are you feeling, my dear?” Rich asked softly, putting the incident aside for the moment.

  “Much better, thank you,” Dani replied, having regained her composure. “And thank you for taking us in. I don’t know how we’ll ever repay you.”

  “Nonsense. I’m rather looking forward to it,” Rich replied. “Mary said I wasn’t to stay too long. Don’t want to tire you out. Daric, I’ll meet you in the drawing room when you’re finished here.” With that, Rich left.

  “Oh my God, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Dani whispered, when she was sure Rich was out of hearing range.

  “I know. I had the same reaction when I met him last night. But, Dani, he’s nothing like the last one we encountered,” Daric said reassuringly. “And he’s a lot younger, too.”

  “But two ‘Uncle Richards’, how is that possible?”

  “I don’t know . . . and with two completely opposite personalities,” Daric informed her.

  “Rich is an inspector with the Metropolitan Police and Mary is a teaching nurse at the London Hospital,” Daric continued. “They’ve asked us to share their home with them until we get ourselves settled. I told them our grandmother story, the one we had agreed on, and it worked.”

  “Mary filled me in this afternoon. I think we’re very fortunate to have found them,” Dani sighed.

  “More like they found us, or rather Rich did,” Daric said light-heartedly.

  “Either way, we would still be out on the street if it weren’t for their generosity,” Dani said.

  “I was really worried about you. I’ve never seen you that sick before,” Daric said, conveying a sense of both anxiety and relief.

  “Thanks for looking out for me,” Dani said softly.

  “You’d do the same, if our places were reversed,” Daric said. “But first things first. You need to start by getting better. And since Mary is the doctor, or in this case, the nurse, I’ll let you get some rest.” Daric leaned over and gave Dani a peck on the forehead. “Get some rest. I’ll pop in to see you in the morning.”

  “Good night.”

  112: Wednesday, August 29, 1888

  After checking on his sister, Daric made his way downstairs to the dining room, automatically drawn to the aroma. Rich and Mary were both at the table enjoying breakfast. Rich was reading the morning paper and passing on something he thought would interest Mary.

  “It says here that Prince Albert Victor has left for the Danby Lodge in Grosmont, Yorkshire.”

  “Good morning,” Daric said, after Rich had finished.

  “Good morning,” the Cases said in unison.

  “I just checked in on Dani. She seems much better today,” Daric said cheerfully.

  “Yes, she does. I stopped in to see her this morning, too. If she feels up to some fresh air, we may take a walk in the park this afternoon. It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day,” Mary said.

  “And you, my friend, will be going back to the Frying Pan pub, I’m afraid. One day will not satisfy that big ox,” Rich said sadly. “But hopefully not for too much longer.”

  “I don’t mind, honestly,” Daric said. “There sure are some interesting people who come into that place. And at early hours, too. Mr. Farrow said he rarely closes the pub’s doors. It seems as though he stays open as long as he has a paying customer.”

  “Most of the early folks would be shift workers and unfortunates,” Rich said matter-of-factly, while he continued to scan the paper.

  “Unfortunates?” Daric asked, unfamiliar with the term.

  “That’s how the press, the public and the police refer to prostitutes,” Rich said.

  “Not the professional ones. But the women who, without a man to support them and with limited or no means of supporting themselves or their children, are forced to rent out their bodies for a few coins. All to get enough for food and a bed for the night,” Mary further explained.

  “It’s really pathetic, that, in today’s society, girls aren’t educated the same as boys. If they were, they could be self-sufficient, too,” Mary said sadly. “But girls are taught at home, on important things, like how to run a household. They’re not taught any practical skills, where they can earn a decent wage.”

  “Now, you sound like your friend, Clara,” Rich teased.

  “Well, Clara’s right. Even if a woman can find work making coats in a sweat shop, she’s forced to work six twelve-hour days for a measly twenty-five cents a week.” As Mary progressed on this topic, her passion increased and so did her volume. “And if she’s really lucky, she might find work gluing matchboxes together. That would be a fourteen-hour day, seven days a week, for seventy-five cents a week. And whatever little she earns would go to greedy slumlords.”

  Mary took a breath, slumped her shoulders and apologized for her outburst. “I’m sorry. But it infuriates me that not enough is being done, or not being done fast enough, to address this problem. It’s been only in recent years that universities have started to award women degrees on the same terms as men. But getting people to break from old entrenched traditions, to provide women with a decent education, is an almost impossible task.”

  Mary’s comments had made an impression on Daric. He had not known the number, the variety or the seriousness of the challenges facing women every day. Now that he knew, he felt an empathy he had not felt the previous day for the women at the pub. He hoped he would better app
reciate the women he would almost certainly be serving there later today. Maybe there would be something he could do to help.

  113: Present Day

  “Professor?”

  Bear growled, scanning the entire place and was frustrated she had located no intruder. She decided further effort wasn’t required and stayed curled up on the floor next to Quinn.

  “Yes, Hermes,” Quinn replied.

  Hermes materialized directly in front of Bear, who leaped back protesting fiercely, “Arwooo.” Having voiced her displeasure, Bear cautiously approached the stranger. “Hi, Bear,” Hermes said amiably. He enjoyed interacting with Bear, it made him feel like the human he aspired to be.

  “Professor, you asked me to inform you when there were changes in Dani’s vital signs.”

  “What is it?” Quinn asked anxiously.

  “I’m pleased to inform you that Dani’s vital signs have returned to normal,” Hermes said.

  Quinn paused for a moment and bowed his head in utter relief. He hated being completely useless when it came to taking care of his children. He had always been there for them. He had been there to pick them up when they fell off their bicycles on their first attempts without training wheels. And he had been there when Daric had fallen out of a tree he had climbed to escape the unwanted advances of an eight-year-old little girl. Unfortunately, the tree he had chosen to climb had not been a wise choice. His ascent had become a very rapid descent, resulting in two broken limbs. One was the tree branch Daric had crawled out on; the other was Daric’s left arm. Quinn had taken Daric to the hospital. He had also been on the receiving end of Sandra’s wrath for not cutting the tree down months before.

  “Um, Professor?” Hermes could see Quinn was lost in thought. “We have company.” Hermes announced, moments before he vanished.

  114

  Richard quietly approached the gazebo. He did not want to alert Quinn to his presence. He wanted to see whether he could find out what Quinn was working on before announcing himself. As he had discovered on his earlier clandestine visit, the windows would reveal none of their inner secrets.

  Richard had the access code to open the front door, but using it would be extremely difficult to explain to Quinn. He wisely chose to knock instead. He rapped firmly on the door several times, while hollering, “Hey, Quinn, open up. It’s Richard.”

  Richard heard Bear howl. It was a matter of only seconds before Quinn pulled open the front door. “Richard, what a pleasant surprise. What are you doing out here?” Quinn asked, curious.

  Richard pushed past Quinn to enter the lab before Quinn could protest. “I stopped by to see Dani and Daric, but Sandra said they’re not home. So, I decided to come out and see how you’re doing,” Richard explained while scanning the interior. Richard noticed nothing glaringly different from his last visit, except the computer console was on and a presentation about what looked like quantum mechanics was projected on the screen at the back of the room.

  Bear stood between Quinn and Richard, the hairs on her back standing erect, running in a line from her neck to the base of her curled tail. “Grrrrrrrr.”

  Richard looked down at the dog and immediately ignored her. “I could have sworn I heard you talking to someone,” Richard said.

  “It’s okay, Bear.” Quinn comforted the unhappy family member. “You probably overheard me talking to my computer. It uses voice-recognition software.”

  “Oh. So tell me, what are you working on, Buddy?” Richard asked directly, never one for beating around the bush.

  “Nothing much, really, just reviewing old lectures, you know, to make sure they’re up to date,” Quinn tried to bluff.

  “Why on earth would you waste your time updating some old lectures, especially when you’re on sabbatical?”

  “You know how it is. One minute you’re overwhelmed with work, the next you’re at a loss for something to do,” Quinn lied.

  “Well, that’s funny. Sandra said it wasn’t a good time for me to visit. I wonder why she would have said that,” Richard stated sarcastically.

  “You know Sandra; she’s so wrapped up in her own work, she thinks everyone’s as busy as she is.” Again, Quinn was fabricating a story he hoped would satisfy Richard’s incessant curiosity. But unfortunately . . .

  “Enough, Quinn. Something’s going on here. Both you and Sandra are acting weird and I should know. So spill it, what’s going on?” Richard insisted. “And I’m not leaving here until I get a satisfactory answer.”

  115: Thursday, August 30, 1888

  “How can you possibly move with all this stuff on?” Dani asked. She couldn’t get comfortable with all the layers of material associated with women’s clothing of this era. The dress Mary offered her to wear had a long train, a crinoline and a bustle, plus a long jacket, a choker necklace and a bonnet.

  “You get used to it, I guess,” Mary replied, not having really given it much consideration until now. It was just how women dressed.

  “Can’t I wear my own dress?”

  “I’m afraid not. Martha wasn’t able to salvage it. It was badly stained, and it was torn in several places. I’m sorry, but it was beyond repair,” Mary said.

  “She did, however, save these,” Mary said, handing Dani her undergarments.

  “Oh, thanks,” Dani said shyly.

  “Can I ask: what are they?”

  “This is my sports bra,” Dani said holding up the item. “And this is my underwear. The material is designed to move with you, not constrict you.”

  “What kind of sports do you play?” Mary asked. She could tell, by Dani’s physique, that she was an athlete.

  Dani thought quickly. The sports she enjoyed and, in most cases excelled in at home would not be appropriate for this time period. “I play golf and tennis,” she said confidently.

  “I play tennis, too,” Mary said excitedly. “Maybe we could play a game when you’re feeling better.”

  “That would be fun,” Dani encouraged.

  “But first, we will have to find you something to wear. You can’t go out wearing just those,” Mary said, referring to Dani’s undergarments. “And I’m afraid I have nothing that will fit you,” Mary said sadly.

  Dani plopped back down on the edge of the bed, deflated. She wanted to please Mary, but she just couldn’t get comfortable in that dress, no matter how hard she tried.

  “Hey, I have an idea. Wait right here,” Mary said, as she darted out of the room.

  Ten minutes later, Mary reappeared with a bundle under her arm. “These should do the trick,” Mary said, while laying out several items of clothing on the bed. There, before Dani’s eyes appeared a woman’s riding habit. There was a matching jacket and skirt, without the volume of material and without a bustle. There was a high-collared shirt and a top hat with a veil.

  Dani considered her options. “The jacket and skirt look as though they ought to work nicely,” Dani offered. “But maybe I could manage without the hat and veil,” she added, as a grin inched across her face. She turned to Mary and gave her an appreciative hug.

  “My neighbour is more your height than I am. But we’ll have to pick you up some additional clothes, later. You can’t live in those forever.”

  “Thank you. This will be great.” Dani dressed quickly so they could get out and enjoy the beautiful, sun-filled day.

  116

  After having dressed, Dani had gone downstairs and had had her first substantial meal in days. Even though the fare was only scrambled eggs and toast, she had devoured it with delight.

  With breakfast behind her, Dani had joined Mary to go for a walk. As soon as they had stepped through the front door, they had been embraced by a truly beautiful day. Dani had paused to soak in the fresh air and to take in her surroundings before she and Mary had set off.

  The Cases’s terraced house, at 265 Old Ford Road, sat a
cross the street from the west end of the beautiful Victoria Park. Behind the house was Duckett’s Canal, which the locals referred to as simply Duckett’s. The canal provided a shortcut between the River Thames and the River Lea, a major tributary of the Thames.

  Victoria Park had been opened to the public in 1845 and encompassed two-hundred-eighteen acres of parkland. It had been and still was considered to be the finest park in the East End.

  “Do you want to sit a spell?” Mary asked, after they had been walking for half an hour. She didn’t want Dani to overexert herself. And the timing was perfect; they were just coming up to a good spot to rest.

  “Maybe, just for a few minutes,” Dani said, hating to admit that she could use a break. “This is an interesting spot,” Dani remarked, as she entered and sat down on an old bench just off the path they had been following.

  “This is one of two pedestrian alcoves in the park. They’re surviving pieces of the old London Bridge that was demolished in the 1830s. One alcove is here; the other is at the east end of the park. You can see the bridge insignia here,” Mary said, pointing to a section on the inside the alcove.

  After a few quiet minutes of enjoying their surroundings, Dani turned to Mary and said sincerely, “I want to thank you again for letting us stay with you until we can get ourselves settled here in London.”

  “It’s nothing, really. Besides, you’re in no condition to be roaming the streets right now looking for work,” Mary replied warmly.

  “You have a very beautiful home and in an ideal location, too,” Dani said. She couldn’t get over the sharp contrast between the dark damp alleyways where she and Daric had been hiding and the luscious greenery and fresh air in abundance here.

  “We immediately fell in love with this house and the neighbourhood. We felt it was a perfect location for raising a family. Sadly, I haven’t been able to get pregnant,” Mary admitted despondently. “Rich is so disappointed. He’s an only child, and it’s up to him to make sure his family name continues on to the next generation.”