by Rhys Bowen
“We can ask my mother to visit some of the agencies with you when she arrives,” Daniel said. “She’s had experience in selecting reliable servants.”
“I’m sure I can find a girl quite easily, Daniel,” I replied stiffly. One thing I didn’t want was a servant girl selected by Daniel’s mother, who’d no doubt report back to the latter all my failings as a housewife and lady of society.
When I went up to kiss Liam good-night Bridie was sitting beside his cradle singing to him in her own soft and pretty voice. He was gazing at her, enraptured, and I paused in the doorway, not wanting to spoil the scene I was witnessing. Then Liam looked up and saw me, tried to scramble to his feet, encumbered by his long night-robes, and let out a wail.
“Oh, you terrible child. You were quite happy until you saw me,” I said. “And Miss Bridie can sing you songs much better than I can.”
I laid him down again firmly, stroking his head, and remembering, as I did almost every day of my life, how I had almost lost him.
“Go on singing,” I said to Bridie. “You sing so prettily.”
“That girl on the street,” Bridie said thoughtfully. “Did you notice—she was singing ‘Away in a Manger’ with the same tune we sang it to in Ireland, not the way they sing it here.”
So that’s what had struck me as odd. In America they have a different melody for the Christmas carol from the one we learned in Ireland. Was it possible that the little girl was a newly arrived immigrant?
Three
The next morning we awoke to find the world transformed to white. Snow was still falling softly and the cobblestones had vanished beneath a pristine white blanket. I made pancakes with bacon for breakfast, Daniel’s favorite, and then I dressed us all warmly for the trip uptown.
“Couldn’t we just take those things over to the little girl first?” Bridie asked.
“It’s Captain Sullivan’s one day off. We’re going on an outing today,” I said. “We’re going to see the store windows, like you wanted. Aren’t you excited?”
“Yes, but look how cold it is today. She’ll be freezing.”
I glanced across at Daniel. “All right. We can drop off the clothes on our way and catch the trolley right there,” I said.
“The trolley? I thought we’d take the El,” Daniel said.
I shuddered. “I don’t like traveling on the El ever since…”
Ever since the accident, I said to myself. The accident when the cars had plunged down from their rails and Liam and I had narrowly escaped death in a car that remained hanging from the tracks.
“Molly, that won’t happen again. And we’ll take the Third Avenue line, not the Ninth.”
“I know the trolley takes longer, but I’d still rather take it. And it goes right past Macy’s,” I said.
“All right. But you know it will be crowded. And cold.”
“I like to be able to breathe the fresh air, rather than be shut up in a carriage with all those unsavory smells,” I said.
“As you wish.” Daniel sighed, knowing he was beaten. He took Liam from Bridie. “Come on, son. We’re going on an adventure.”
Bridie darted upstairs to get the package of clothing, then followed us out of the front door. Our footsteps crunched over snow and I held on to Daniel’s arm as it was unsteady walking over hidden cobbles. The Salvation Army band was playing again as we came to Broadway. This time it was “See Amid the Winter’s Snow,” in an apt description of the scene we were witnessing. Snowflakes fluttered down around them, landing on their dark blue uniforms and settling on the peaks of their caps. Bridie was already peering ahead as I took her hand to cross Broadway.
“She’s there. See. In that doorway,” she called out excitedly, then broke away from me and darted through the crowd. The Salvation Army band was making such a din that I couldn’t hear whether the little girl was singing or not, but she certainly looked up in surprise when Bridie dropped the package into her lap then sprinted back to us again without saying a word. I saw the child’s puzzled, excited face as she began to undo the brown paper when we boarded our tram.
Macy’s windows lived up to Bridie’s expectations. She stared at each one, wide-eyed, her nose pressed against the glass until her breath steamed it over, hiding the scene inside. I have to confess if I hadn’t experienced the shop windows in Paris earlier in the year I might have been equally impressed. There were mechanical rabbits eating carrots, figures skating on a frozen pond, an old toy maker sitting at his bench making toys. They were wonderful automatons, with the toy maker’s eyes moving and his toys coming to life as he finished them.
Bridie would have stood there all day, I suspect. “Come on, my dear. We still have the toy shop to visit,” I said.
She had just torn herself away reluctantly to join us when a strange thing happened. Daniel gave a shout. A skinny youth looked up and took off at great speed with Daniel hot on his heels. It was a mercy that Liam had just started fussing in Daniel’s arms and he’d handed him over to me or I don’t know what he would have done. If it had been an out-and-out running race I suspect that the boy would have gotten away, but he was hampered by the crowd dawdling along the sidewalk as they examined the windows, then a trolley coming to a halt made him change direction and slow enough for Daniel to grab him.
“Got ya, my boy,” Daniel said, twisting his arm up behind his back.
“Let go of me,” the boy shouted. “I ain’t done nothing.”
“If you haven’t done anything, why were you running away?” Daniel demanded as the boy squirmed and fought.
“Wouldn’t you run if a crazy lunatic started chasing you? Get your hands off me. I’ll call the police.”
“Oh, that’s a good one. I am the police.” Daniel almost looked as if he was enjoying himself. “Captain Sullivan. So I’m not only the police, I’m one of the most important policemen you’re likely to meet.”
“I ain’t done nothing,” the boy insisted. “Let go of me. You’re hurting.”
“I saw your hand going into that lady’s bag,” Daniel said.
“Go on then, search me!” the boy said belligerently. “You won’t find nothing.”
“Of course I won’t. I stopped you in time. One more second and you’d have slipped her wallet under your jacket and been off through the crowd with her none the wiser.”
“You can’t prove that,” the boy said. “And you’d better be careful, going around and accusing people of things they didn’t do. There’s such a thing as wrongful arrest, you know.”
“Constable Macarthy!” Daniel boomed, and a stout man in uniform forced his way through the crowd toward them.
“A spot of trouble, Captain Sullivan, sir?”
“Do you recognize this young’un?” Daniel asked.
“Never seen him before, sir. What’s he been doing?”
“Helping himself to people’s wallets,” Daniel said. “No, there’s no point in searching him. I spotted him in the act of lifting a purse, but I suspect he’s smart enough to have tucked others into hiding places to be retrieved later—just in case he was ever caught. Is that right, young fellow?”
“I said to get your hands off me,” the boy snarled. “You’re going to be sorry, you know. I got friends.”
“Oh, no, I think it’s you who’s going to be sorry,” Daniel said. “I never forget a face and my men will be on the lookout for you now, all over the city. If you’re smart you’ll stay indoors until after Christmas. Handcuff him, Constable.”
“What do you want me to do with him, Captain?” the constable asked as the pair of them wrestled handcuffs onto the struggling and cursing youth.
“Take him to the nearest station house and get his name, address, and fingerprints,” Daniel said. “If he gives you any sauce, you have my permission to lock him up for the night until he can learn some manners.”
“You can’t do that. I told ya, I ain’t done nothing,” the boy said, looking slightly more worried now.
“If you cooperate lik
e a good boy, then you’ve got nothing to worry about and you’ll be free as a bird in a little while,” Daniel said. “But if any of my men catches you picking pockets again, remember we’ll have your fingerprints on file and you’ll be heading straight to jail. Understand me?”
A crowd had gathered, standing not too close but watching with interest.
“What’s the boy done?” a thin clergyman in a black suit asked.
“Pickpocket,” Daniel said. “There are too many of them around this year. You should all make sure you keep a watchful eye on your cash.”
“But he’s only a boy,” the clergyman said. “Surely handcuffs aren’t necessary. If you’d let me have a word with him, I know I could make him—”
His speech was cut off by a scream from somewhere in the crowd and a woman cried out, “My money is missing. Someone’s taken my purse. Was that him too?”
“Either this one or one of his fellows,” Daniel said. “Who’s on this stretch of Broadway with you, Constable?”
“Dracott, sir. Over there on the corner of Thirty-fourth.”
“Then you take the boy away and I’ll send Dracott over to search likely hiding places to see if we can recover any more stolen wallets. We’re probably too late. Undoubtedly this hooligan has a friend who’s been following him to retrieve the stash. But from now on I want you to report to me every time there is a pickpocketing incident. This is prime territory over the holidays. You’ll need backup.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll take the boy now then, shall I?”
“Yes, and come right back. We’ll need as many eyes as possible watching this crowd.” He turned to the throng now surrounding him. “You can all help. Keep vigilant. Yell out if you see someone’s pocket being picked. We need to put a stop to this right now.” He moved within a few inches of the boy’s face. “Don’t forget. I’ll be watching out for you. So will all my men.”
The boy shot Daniel a look of pure venom as the constable marched him away. The crowd parted to let them through, then drifted away, back to their Christmas shopping. Daniel straightened his jacket and made his way back toward us. I didn’t often have a chance to see him in action and again I marveled at his powerful presence, his calm demeanor. Then I remembered that every one of these encounters might put him in danger, every day of his life.
“It’s just as I thought,” Daniel said as he joined us and took Liam back from me. “This is something bigger than the usual opportunistic kid trying to take advantage of the holiday crowds. I’ll wager he’s part of an organized gang. Did you see the swagger? He wasn’t even scared of me. He reckons he’s got protection. And the constable hadn’t seen him before. Our men usually know the potential troublemakers on their own patch.” He glanced back as the constable with the still struggling, cursing boy was swallowed up into the crowd. “I want to find out who’s behind this and nip it in the bud. I want to know if they are recruiting boys off the street or if they are using known gang members. That’s the problem—I can’t assign extra men for what’s essentially petty crime. But if it’s one of the known gangs, I hate to see them extending their reach, and if it’s a new gang, then I want to know about that too.” Then he turned and gave me an encouraging smile. “Sorry about that. I’m supposed to have a day off, aren’t I. Come on, let’s enjoy ourselves. Toy store then a hot chocolate, I think.”
I tried to feel as gay and carefree as before, but there was now a tension in the air that wouldn’t quite go away.
Four
“Is it far to the toy store?” Bridie asked. “My feet are cold.”
“Too far to walk on a day like this,” Daniel said. “We’ll take the Sixth Avenue El. Come on, there’s a station right over here.”
He took my arm to steer me toward the elevated railway. I hesitated, still reluctant to travel after what had happened. But I told myself not to be silly. Just because one train had plunged off the tracks once didn’t mean it would ever happen again. We crammed ourselves into a crowded carriage and I was certainly glad when we reached Fifty-eighth Street and I could breathe the fresh crisp air again.
Here uptown there was a different atmosphere. The stores were swankier and almost every window was decorated with Christmas displays, electric lights, and even illuminated Christmas trees. Then we came at last to Fifth Avenue and Daniel said, “There it is. FAO Schwarz. What did I tell you?” He said it as if he was a conjurer who had produced this for our pleasure.
There was a crowd around the store windows and at the door two red-coated soldiers stood at attention as if this was Buckingham Palace in London. Liam had been snuggled drowsily against Daniel’s shoulder but perked up at the sound of Daniel’s voice, and when he saw the real-life soldiers his eyes opened wide. We stepped inside and were greeted by a cacophony of sound. On one table a host of mechanical toys were moving around—bears turning somersaults, soldiers marching, drummers beating drums. And around the perimeter of the table a train set ran, hooting mournfully as it went over a bridge. Liam wriggled to get closer, staring wide-eyed.
“You’re not quite old enough for that sort of thing yet,” Daniel said, holding on to him. “But I can’t wait for the day when I can get you a train set.”
“We know who wants to play with the trains,” I teased, and watched him grin.
“What should we get him for Christmas, do you think?”
“Don’t discuss it in front of him,” I said, giving Daniel a cautionary frown. “He has to think that it’s coming from Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, or whatever you want to call him.”
“He’s one year old, Molly. He doesn’t take in what we’re talking about.”
“I bet he does,” I said. “We’ve a pretty smart child here, Daniel. Oh, look at the rocking horses.”
“I’ve asked my mother to look out my old rocking horse,” Daniel said. “It must still be up in the attic. I’ll spruce it up for Liam.”
“Not yet. He’s too small for a rocking horse. Something he can push, maybe.”
“How about a horse on wheels then?” Daniel asked. “I had one of those when I was little, but I think it fell to pieces.”
“That would be grand,” I said, then I spotted the perfect thing. “Look, over there. The stuffed dog on wheels. Just the right size for him to push. Do you think it’s very expensive?”
“It’s Christmas, Molly. Hang the expense,” Daniel said. “I’ll come back and pick it up when he’s not watching.”
Bridie had been hanging back, not saying a word but gazing around her in awe. I noticed her expression and realized that in many ways she was still a child and hadn’t had much of a childhood.
“Is there anything you’d want Santa Claus to bring you?” I asked.
She shrugged. “You already promised to buy me a skein of yarn to knit that girl a scarf,” she said. “And I’ve outgrown my stockings.”
“I don’t think Santa Claus carries stockings on his sleigh,” I said, smiling. I noticed she was looking wistfully at the china dolls. She was almost too old for dolls but had she ever had a proper one, with curls and clothes to dress her with? Daniel and his mother would think I was being silly, but I resolved to buy her a doll this Christmas.
“We’ll get that wool for you this afternoon,” I said. “I’m sure you want to start knitting right away.”
She nodded, her face alight with excitement.
As we came around a big display of soldiers and forts we heard a shriek of laughter. What’s more, I thought I recognized it. And sure enough there were my neighbors and dear friends Miss Goldfarb and Miss Walcott, usually known as Sid and Gus, standing together watching a mechanical bear. The bear turned somersaults then stood up again in a most realistic manner. As it flopped over in front of them they both burst into renewed and delighted laughter like a pair of children.
“So this is how you spend your days when you claim to be experiencing culture,” I said.
“Where else should one be before Christmas?” Gus said. “What is more affirming of
the beauty of life than the laughter of children?”
“I heard the laughter of two certain ladies,” I said.
“Well, wouldn’t you laugh?” Sid said. “Look at the face on this bear, Molly. He looks shocked and surprised every time he turns over.” She wound the bear up again and put him down on the table where he started to turn somersaults in our direction. Liam took one look at him and burst into tears.
“Oh, dear,” Gus said. “That’s one toy we’ll probably have to strike off our list. I suppose he is rather frightening for a one-year-old. But we’ve seen a fort and wooden soldiers. He has to have soldiers…”
“You’re not to spoil him,” I said. “One present is quite enough at his age. You’ve already been more than generous.”
“But you know we love spoiling him,” Sid said. “Even if we’re not Catholic and not his official godmothers, we are self-styled fairy godmothers, aren’t we, Gus?”
“Absolutely. So are you here to buy his Christmas presents?”
“Not while he’s watching,” I said. “We don’t want to spoil the surprise.” I glanced across at Daniel, who was holding Liam with a forced polite smile on his face. He didn’t really approve of my friends and their bohemian lifestyle, however grateful he was for all they had done for me. And he certainly didn’t approve of their dress, although today they were both wearing fur-trimmed capes and looked relatively civilized. It was only if one looked down that one could catch a glimpse of the trousers Sid often wore, and her short bobbed hair poked out from under a French beret she had acquired in Paris.
“So where are you off to now?” Gus asked. “You have to leave us alone to buy presents so they are a surprise to you too.”
“Daniel’s promised us hot chocolate before we go home,” I said.
“You have to take the children to Central Park and let them play in the snow. Liam’s first snow, Molly. On second thought, why don’t we come with you? I’d love a good snowball fight, wouldn’t you, Sid?”
“Rather!” Sid said. “And we can see if the lake is frozen.”