The Pattern Artist

by Moser, Nancy;

  “You liked doing the work,” Miss Dougard said. “You have a talent for it.”

  “I do like it, and I do have a talent for it,” Annie said. “But that doesn’t mean you should pass it off as your work.” She pointed to a painting of a mountain scene on the wall. “The person who hangs the painting doesn’t take credit for painting it.”

  “I don’t like your tone.”

  “My tone?” She looked from one to the other, incredulous. “I did the work and deserve the credit. I did the work as training for when I become a lady’s maid someday.”

  Miss Dougard looked at Miss Miller, and then the latter began to laugh. “You? A lady’s maid?”

  Miss Dougard shook her head. “Lady’s maids are women of breeding and education.”

  “Not a girl who grew up cleaning pigpens and chicken coops.”

  A pit grew in Annie’s stomach. “When I applied for a job at the manor house, I told them I was good at sewing.”

  Miss Miller was not fazed. “But you were hired as a maid. An under housemaid.”

  “That’s the only position they had open. But they saw my potential, I know they did. There are many who apply to work with the Kidds and not all are taken.”

  “They are if the vicar insists on it,” Miss Miller said.

  “What?”

  “You’d just lost your brother and your father was a known drunkard. The vicar heard you were applying for a job and strongly suggested the Kidds take you on.”

  The foundation of Annie’s position in the household cracked. “They were impressed by my sewing ability. I brought them examples of dresses I’d made for Ma and some neighbor ladies. I told them I wanted to be a lady’s maid someday.”

  Miss Miller chuckled. “You had nerve, that I’ll give you.”

  “Did they tell you being a lady’s maid was a possibility?” Miss Dougard asked.

  Annie’s mind rushed back to her interview with the housekeeper at Crompton Hall. She remembered a vague “We’ll see, child” but nothing else. Had those few words been an attempt to humor her, nothing more? Had Annie planted her hopes on the polite patience of a housekeeper who’d been instructed to hire her out of pity? As a charity case?

  Miss Dougard touched Annie’s arm. “Don’t feel bad about it. They hired you. People were looking after you.”

  Miss Miller pointed the book at her. “You should be thankful, girl. You have a job. You have a future with the Kidds.”

  “As what?”

  Miss Miller looked taken aback, as if she didn’t understand the question. “As a housemaid. It’s an honorable position in an honorable house. I know dozens of girls who would fight for that honor.”

  The pit in Annie’s stomach dug deeper. Why had she ever thought she could rise above her station? The Misses had never encouraged her. No one had.

  “Go on now,” Miss Miller said, opening the door. “Get up to the attic until we need your help when the ladies return home.”

  Miss Miller nudged Annie out the door and closed it on her heels. From the hall she heard their laughter.

  She also heard the soft click of more than one other door in the servants’ hallway.

  Her humiliation was complete.

  Annie went through the rest of the day and evening as if walking underwater, her movements slow, her gaze blurry. More than one person asked if something was wrong. She had no answer for them. For there were a thousand things wrong, yet nothing at all. Nothing that could be shared. Nothing that would matter to anyone but herself.

  When it was time to retire she returned to her attic room, longing for the oblivion of sleep. She dreaded seeing Iris, for Iris would sense something was amiss, and Annie didn’t want to share the details of what a fool she’d been. She remembered the words of Iris and Danny when she’d first shared her dream. “They’ll let you do that? Rise up from housemaid to lady’s maid?”

  Even young Danny had known what an impossibility it was. Why hadn’t Annie realized as much? She’d been dumb as a plank for not seeing the truth.

  Annie got ready for bed and slid under the covers, praying for sleep to come quickly. But her mind wouldn’t let her body go, reliving every horrible moment again and again.

  She heard steps outside the door and quickly closed her eyes, feigning the sleep that eluded her.

  Iris came in with a lamp. “Oh,” she said, immediately turning down the wick.

  Annie was just about to congratulate herself on her ruse when she heard Iris crying—and not just a little.

  She turned over to see her. “What’s wrong?”

  Iris shook her head back and forth. “Nothing. Really. Go back to sleep.”

  Annie pushed back the covers and went to her.

  Iris fell into her arms. “He’s such a brute. I hate him!”

  “Grasston?”

  Iris nodded. “He grabbed me and … and rubbed up against me, and … I don’t know why he’s bothering me.”

  Annie led her to sit on the bed. “I’m afraid I am to blame. I’ve rebuffed him more than once and got him in trouble about his rude comments to Miss Henrietta. If he can’t get to me, he’ll go after you because he knows we’re close. I’m so sorry.”

  Iris nodded then put a hand on her upper arm as though it was sore.

  “Did he hurt you?”

  “He pinched me hard.”

  “Let’s look at it.” Annie helped remove her arm from the dress sleeve, revealing two distinct red finger marks on the outside and a thumbprint on the inner arm. “It’s going to leave a bruise. We should show Mrs. Grimble or Mr. Brandon.”

  “No!” Iris said. “Nothing will come of it. And then he’ll come after me more.”

  “We have to do something.”

  “I just want to go to bed.”

  Annie helped her then got in on her side.

  Sleep would come, but the problem remained.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  You must leave.

  Annie sat up in bed, jarred awake by the words. Her bedroom was still dark but for the moonlight that cut a swath across the bed. Iris lay sleeping beside her, though she stirred at the alteration of the covers.

  Annie took a fresh breath and blinked herself awake. Had she heard the words? They echoed in her mind as if they had been shouted.

  You. Must. Leave.

  Leave the Kidds?

  Leave the Friesen household?

  To go where?

  Annie pressed a hand to her chest and made herself calm down. God? Is this You talking? Am I really supposed to leave?

  Iris turned over and opened her eyes. “What are you doing awake?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Then go back to sleep. It will be morning too soon.”

  She felt another prodding. “I can’t sleep. And neither can you.”

  With a sigh Iris sat up. “What are you talking about?”

  If only I knew for sure.

  Needing to see if light dispelled the dream, the voice, the directive, or whatever it was, Annie lit the lamp then returned to the warmth of the covers.

  “Your eyes are so bright, as if you’ve been lit from inside,” Iris said.

  “An idea has been lit. A big idea that includes you—and Danny.”

  Iris adjusted her pillow. “What is it?”

  “It’s hard to explain without sounding daft. But I was awakened by three words: ‘You must leave.’”

  Iris glanced around the room. “In your dream or outside it?”

  “I don’t know. But they were clear enough for me to wake up.”

  “ ‘You must leave.’ Leave here?”

  Annie’s heart beat faster, and she said another quick prayer. Yes, Lord?

  Receiving no nudge to tell Iris to go back to sleep, Annie continued, “Leave everything. Leave here, leave my job, leave the Kidds. Everything.”

  “And go where?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “It would have been nice if the voice shared the details.”

  Ag
reed.

  Now that Annie was fully awake the one idea expanded into many, like branches of a tree growing from its trunk. “The first day we met you told me you planned to leave, that you and Danny were saving up for it. You want to be a shopgirl.”

  “Someday.”

  “Then why not now? What’s stopping you?”

  Iris made a face, clearly thinking hard. Finally she said, “I know here. I don’t know there. It’s scary.”

  Annie felt the same fear but didn’t tell Iris that. Instead she tossed the covers aside and faced her friend. “I’m going. That’s why you and Danny should go, too. We’d be three instead of one. Being three would make us strong.”

  Iris’s nod was weak.

  “There’s nothing for any of us here.”

  “What happened to becoming a lady’s maid?”

  Annie told her about the Misses taking credit for her work. And their derisive laughter when she confronted them. “I’ve been a fool, thinking I could rise up.”

  “So you think you could rise up out there?”

  “Isn’t America the land of opportunity?”

  “To some, maybe. But for the three of us?”

  Annie felt doubt threaten. She forced it away. “Why not us?”

  Iris hugged her pillow. “What makes you think Mr. Brandon and Mrs. Grimble will let Danny and me go?”

  “You’re not going to ask.”

  “We’re going to sneak away?”

  “You can leave a note.” Annie made a decision. “That’s what I’m going to do.”

  “They’ll never give us references if we leave like that.”

  “You want references so you can be a maid again?”

  Iris bit the corner of the pillow.

  “And remember Grasston. I doubt things will get better with him—for either of us.”

  Iris’s shudder was the seal on it. They had to leave, or suffer under Grasston. Annie could probably handle him, but Iris …

  “When do you want to go?” Iris said.

  Annie let out the breath she’d been saving. “So you’ll go with me?”

  “If I don’t go now I’ll never go.”

  “What about Danny?”

  “He’ll be first out the door.”

  They laughed softly, knowing it was true. Then they looked at each other and sighed at the same time, which elicited another laugh. “When do we leave?” Iris asked again.

  Annie made a quick decision. “Tomorrow afternoon. My ladies have a function to go to, so the Misses will take their naps.”

  “Will you help me write a note?”

  Annie glanced at the bureau. The Friesens provided their servants paper and pencil to write to their families. She gathered a piece of paper and the Bible to support it, and together they began their farewell notes.

  With their departure day upon them, the notion of revenge grew. Each hour the details were refined, culminating in this moment when Annie stood in the hall of the servants’ floor, looking at the door that divided the women’s bedrooms from the men’s.

  “Boo!”

  Her heart dropped to her toes as she turned to confront Danny. “Don’t do that!”

  “A bit jumpy, are ya? Just three more hours and we’ll be free.”

  “I know. But first …” Maybe Danny could help. “I need you to do me a favor.”

  “Is it dangerous?”

  “It could be. If you’re caught.”

  He grinned. “What do you want me to do?”

  The Kidd and Friesen ladies left for the afternoon. On cue, Annie saw the Misses go off to take their naps. The coast was clear.

  She slipped into Miss Henrietta’s room and paused a moment to reread the note she was leaving:

  Dear Miss Henrietta,

  Please share this with your mother.

  I am leaving your family’s employ and am venturing out into New York City to find my new path. I am sorry to do this in such an abrupt fashion, but I have realized that as a housemaid there is no place to go, no ladder to climb. I have a stirring within me that forces me to take this drastic step. I know it is a risk, but it is a risk I must take.

  Please forgive the trouble this causes, and know that I truly appreciate your family’s past kindness. Also know that I have greatly enjoyed serving you. Especially you. I wish you all the happiness in the world, Miss Henrietta, for you deserve it.

  Sincerely,

  Annie Wood

  Annie had considered tattling on the Misses but hadn’t wanted this final note to be tainted by a complaining tone. Besides, Miss Henrietta and her mother would find out soon enough that their lady’s maids had no sewing talent. Being appreciative was the honorable way to leave.

  She leaned the note against the dressing table mirror and closed the door behind her.

  Annie was nearly through packing her few belongings when Iris came in their room, out of breath.

  “Are you ready?” Iris asked.

  Annie closed the clasp on the carpetbag. “I am now.”

  Annie helped Iris remove her uniform and put on her one shirtwaist, jacket, and a straw hat. Iris held up the apron. “I won’t miss this. I vow to never wear an apron again.”

  Annie smiled but suffered a glimmer of dread. It might be a hard vow to keep.

  “Do I leave my uniforms?” Iris asked.

  “Did you pay for them?”

  “No.”

  “Then you leave them. I had to provide mine, so I’m taking them with me. Perhaps I can alter them.”

  Iris carefully laid the clothes on the bed, stroking a sleeve to make it lie flat. She retrieved her note for the butler and housekeeper and placed it on top.

  “Well then,” she said.

  Their bags packed, they looked around the room they had shared. “Our last chance to change our minds,” Annie said.

  Iris let out a breath. “Onward. Quickly. Before I chicken out.”

  The plan was to meet Danny outside the kitchen door, behind the coal bin, hopefully out of sight.

  Please don’t let anyone see us. Please, God.

  Iris and Annie waited in an alcove in the basement until the only noise came from the kitchen—which was unfortunately near the exit.

  “I’ll go first,” Annie said. “Wait until I give you the signal.”

  Iris nodded, but her eyes were frantic with worry. Annie put a hand on her arm. “It will be all right.”

  Hopefully.

  With one last look and listen, Annie walked quickly down the corridor. Cook was busy giving directions about how to slice carrots and had her back to the doorway. A kitchen maid looked up, but Annie didn’t wait to be accosted.

  At the door she motioned for Iris to follow. Iris ran on tiptoes, clutching her bag to her chest. Together they exited the home and ran behind the coal bin.

  “You made it,” Danny said.

  “So far,” Iris said. “Let’s go before someone sees us. I feel like ants are crawling up my spine.”

  Annie led the way toward the street. She turned around and whispered, “Walk quickly. Don’t run.”

  Somehow they managed to do so and turned left to walk away from the Friesens’. A delivery wagon passed them, and the driver gave them a second look.

  As soon as they reached the end of the block Danny yelled, “Run!” So run they did.

  “Thanks for the ride, mister!” Danny said as the three young people hopped off the back of his wagon.

  The man tipped his hat and went into a haberdashery to make his delivery.

  They took a moment to look around the narrow, busy street, which even in the late afternoon was in shadow. “Where are we?” Iris asked.

  “I don’t care,” Annie said, “as long as it’s away from there.”

  “I’ll tell you where we are,” Danny said. “We’re at the starting point of our adventure.”

  Iris tucked her hand around his arm, looking very vulnerable even if she was four years older than him. “There are so many people.”

  “Ah, don�
��t be a baby. We’ve been to department stores before. We’ve been around loads of people.”

  “But we’ve never been around people when we don’t have anywhere to go home to.”

  Annie had not expected to hear her doubt so soon. “Do you want to go back?”

  “I just want to be somewhere, not here, out in the middle of nowhere alone, with all these strangers around.”

  What had the girl expected?

  Danny patted her hand. “You have us, Iris. None of us are alone.”

  His strength fed Annie’s.

  “I’m hungry,” Iris said.

  “Never fear!” Danny said. He opened his satchel and took out a large roast beef sandwich and an orange.

  “How did you manage this?” Annie asked.

  “It pays to have friends in low places who appreciate that I’m a growing boy.” He shrugged. “Cook likes me.”

  They sat on the stoop of a building full of apartment flats. Street vendors closed up their carts for the night. Annie heard a baby cry from inside the building and watched as a horse fouled the street. The city was shutting down.

  Lovely.

  Danny took out a pocketknife and divided the sandwich into thirds while Annie peeled the orange and did the same. There were ten sections, so she gave Iris the extra one.

  “Our first meal on our own,” Annie said, adjusting the bread around her meat. She shooed a stray dog away.

  “But where will our next meal come from?” Iris asked.

  “We all have a little money, yes?” Annie asked. “You said you’ve been saving for this.”

  “We have a little,” Iris said. “Very little.”

  “We’ll use our money to get a room for the night and tomorrow we’ll find jobs.”

  “Where?” Iris asked.

  Annie was weary of her helpless attitude. “You and I will get a job in a shop.”

  Danny took an enormous bite of his sandwich. “As for me? Give me a job and I can do it.”

  Annie appreciated his attitude. “I believe you.”

  Danny licked his fingers noisily. “Let’s count how much money we have between us.”

  They each retrieved their coins, and Annie suddenly realized that she didn’t have dollars and cents but pounds and pence. “What good will this do me?” she asked aloud.