The Workhouse Children

by Lindsey Hutchinson

  Miss Flowers had become great friends with Martin Lander, too, Purcell had heard. The brilliant young lawyer had been in his courthouse many times and Joseph felt he was a man to reckon with.

  As for Cara, Joseph thought he would like to meet her. He wanted to know precisely why she had such a keen interest in the workhouse. As the carriage rumbled over the cobbled streets he made his decision. He would write to this young woman and ask if he may call on her sometime… in his official capacity of course!

  *

  Martin Lander had eventually found a property in Earle Street, just two streets away from where he lived, and was busy setting up his business there. Mr Harris had been most helpful in suggesting the new location for the solicitor’s office.

  He thought about Cara and how she had now bought the twenty houses and the shops in Gozzard Street which had stood empty in a part of town which appeared to be dying. She fully intended to revitalize the area by moving families in who would renovate the buildings and maybe open small businesses eventually. He smiled as he manoeuvred furniture into place in his new premises. He knew she would snap up those empty buildings and, sure enough, she had. His smile turned to a grin when he remembered her driving a hard bargain with Harris regarding the price. Cara was turning out to be a shrewd businesswoman.

  *

  In the meantime, Cara decided to telephone the workhouse. ‘Good morning Mr Tulley,’ Cara said into the telephone.

  ‘Miss Flowers,’ Fred’s voice was followed by a huge sigh, causing Cara to smile.

  ‘I would like to make an appointment to visit please,’ she said.

  ‘I’m afraid there’s been an incident so you will have to wait a while.’ Tulley’s voice sounded tired.

  ‘I see. Then I will wait until after the weekend. Thank you, Mr Tulley.’ Cara heard a grunt before the connection went dead.

  Wondering what the incident could have been, she was startled by a knock on her front door as she walked past it from the hall to the kitchen. Opening the door wide, she was faced with a stout woman wearing a hat with an enormous feather sticking out at an odd angle. The woman nodded and the feather bobbed.

  ‘Miss Flowers?’ the woman asked in a no-nonsense manner.

  ‘Yes,’ Cara answered, unable to draw her eyes from the bobbing feather. The woman was not well off, as could be seen by her old high-neck blouse and long skirt with a patch on the side.

  ‘My name is Bertha Jenkins, and until yesterday I was the cook at the workhouse.’ Bertha’s hands were crossed and lay on her ample stomach.

  ‘Please Mrs Jenkins, won’t you come in and have some tea?’ Cara urged. As she led the way to the kitchen, Cara wondered if the incident at the workhouse had involved this woman in some way. With Daisy and Charlie playing in the garden, Cara introduced the woman to Gracie Cox and Molly Barton.

  ‘I’ve been hearing a lot about you and your good deeds, Miss Flowers,’ the woman said.

  ‘Cara, please call me Cara… and thank you.’

  ‘Bertha.’ The nod of the head confirmed they should use her given name. ‘I know about you trying to get them poor buggers out of that place… beggin’ your pardon.’ Bertha apologized for what she felt may be inappropriate language. Cara nodded that no slight had been taken and Bertha continued. ‘I have things to tell you that will make your hair curl!’

  Gracie and Molly leaned forward in their seats in their eagerness to hear what Bertha Jenkins was about to divulge.

  *

  Fred Tulley had called in the doctor, who was now wrapping a bandage around the arm with the stab wound. Folding a sling, he tied it at the back of Tulley’s neck before gently placing the arm to rest inside.

  ‘There, that should hold it nicely. Now I think you should inform Purcell of what has occurred.’ Seeing Fred’s horror-stricken face, he added, ‘Either you do… or I will.’

  Leaving it at that, the doctor turned to Ada who was moaning in pain. ‘Right, Ada, let’s have a look at that shoulder.’

  ‘Ooooh…!’ Ada groaned as the doctor cut the sleeve from her dress in order to assess the damage. ‘That bastard stabbed me!’ she howled.

  ‘I believe it was in retaliation, Mrs Tulley, according to your husband anyway. Now hold still while I take a look at your wound.’ The doctor’s patience was wearing thin with all that was going on. His mind wandered as he worked, maybe it was time for he, himself, to quit his post at the workhouse.

  As he worked, he listened as Fred informed the Chairman of the Board of Guardians, over the telephone, that there had been a terrible accident. Dr Cooper smiled to himself. The Tulleys were in a pickle now and he wondered how they would talk themselves out of this one.

  With no cook to instruct in the kitchen, the inmates, unsure of what to do, had argued about whether to make breakfast themselves. Eventually, hunger won out and they began to settle, each to their own job. No thin porridge made with water this morning, but thick creamy oatmeal with sugar sprinkled on top! A large chunk of fresh bread accompanied each bowl served to every person in the building. The Matron was nowhere to be seen, so gossip was passed without hesitation about all the yelling and screaming they’d heard take place. Mothers sobbed their joy at seeing their children again and hugged them freely and fiercely. Husbands and wives spent a few tender moments together before the next sitting was due in. They knew whatever was keeping Ada Tulley occupied, it wouldn’t be too long before she was back, so they relished the time they had.

  Joseph Purcell arrived disgruntled at having been woken so early. Dropping into a chair in the boardroom, he snapped, ‘Right Tulley, explain!’ Joseph’s eyes remained on the Master standing before him, his arm in a sling. He ignored the Matron, who also wore a sling, and the doctor who stood behind Tulley.

  ‘Well sir, it’s like this… Mrs Tulley… that is to say, my wife…’ Fred was at a loss as to how to explain.

  Stepping forward, Dr Cooper saved him the bother saying quickly, ‘Mrs Tulley was drunk… again! She stabbed Mr Tulley who then stabbed her in return. Oh… and the cook has resigned!’ Screwing up his mouth, he dropped his chin, his body language screamed… ‘Ha!’

  Joseph Purcell stared in disbelief. After a moment he stood, and as he walked out he called over his shoulder, ‘I will convene an emergency meeting at two o’clock this afternoon! Everybody be there!’

  Dr Cooper shook his head as they filed out of the room; the Tulleys had begun to bicker again as they followed behind him.

  ‘You started it…’

  ‘It was your fault…’

  ‘If you weren’t drunk…’

  ‘Oh, put a sock in it…’

  Dr Cooper whirled on the argumentative pair. ‘Will you both… shut the hell up!’ Then he stamped away, leaving the open-mouthed Tulleys in his wake.

  *

  The Board members had discussed the incident at great length before the doctor and the Tulleys had been invited into the boardroom to join them.

  ‘Mr Tulley,’ Joseph spoke confidently, ‘this is the second time we have had to call an emergency meeting. This sort of thing simply cannot go on! I must warn you, if anything like this should happen again, the Board will have no option but to see you dismissed!’

  Dr Cooper fumed, Tulley was going to get away with it again! He muttered sarcastically, ‘Naughty boy, don’t do it again.’

  Joseph’s eyes moved to the doctor. ‘Dr Cooper, do you have something to say?’

  ‘Actually I do.’ The doctor stepped forward. ‘This man and his drunkard of a wife are not fit to run this institution!’

  ‘Dr Cooper, please confine your comments to medical matters only as that is your profession.’ Purcell kept his voice calm.

  Dr Cooper did not however, and his voice boomed out. ‘I did that once before if you remember, regarding the death of the Townsend child, but nothing was done about that!’

  ‘This is an entirely different matter,’ Joseph said.

  ‘I was called in on both occasions, which means both i
ncidents were medically related… a connection there I think?’ The doctor’s voice dripped sarcasm.

  ‘We digress,’ Joseph said, trying to regain control of the situation. ‘What we have to decide upon now is how to handle this matter quietly.’

  Again Dr Cooper jumped in. ‘Quietly! Mr Purcell the “matter” of the cook leaving is the talk of the town! Everyone is aware your cook has walked out and her reason for doing so. It won’t be long before word is out that the Master and Matron have tried to kill each other!’

  ‘That cannot be allowed to happen, Dr Cooper!’ Purcell began to lose his cool demeanour.

  ‘Mr Purcell, word will get out… like it or not. Then will follow how these two…’ The doctor tilted his head towards the Tulleys, ‘… have been treating the inmates. They have overworked and underfed them. They have beaten the children…’

  Purcell held up his hands for silence, but the doctor was in full swing.

  ‘Oh no Mr Purcell! I will not be silenced again! The Townsend child died of food poisoning which, as you know, was noted on her death certificate. In effect, she was murdered, albeit inadvertently!’

  Gasps sounded around the room as the doctor continued. ‘Mrs Tulley is known to be drunk every night. Yes, I am the medical officer for this facility but only because no other bloody doctor would take on the job! Mr Purcell, members of the Board, Mr and Mrs Tulley…’ He looked at each in turn then resumed speaking. ‘I resign my post as medical officer to the workhouse as of this moment!’ Dr Cooper smiled, turned on the spot military style and walked out.

  ‘Now what the hell do we do?’ Joseph Purcell asked his esteemed colleagues who were shaking their heads in disbelief at the turn of events. ‘Well something has to be done otherwise you’ll lose your jobs on the Board… more to the point, I will lose mine as Chairman! No job, no money, and no perks, you best think about that, and soon!’

  Seventeen

  Martin Lander had arrived at The Laburnums just as Bertha Jenkins was about to reveal all. With tea poured and cake served, Martin listened with the others as Bertha began.

  ‘I was cook at the “Spike” for years, but yesterday I walked out! I’d had enough and that Tulley woman refusing to allow me to peel carrots was the last straw!’

  Gracie, as a cook herself, nodded her approval. Bertha directed her comments to her. ‘You know how hard it is to make a meal outta nothing.’ Gracie nodded again. ‘Well I never had anything but rubbish to work with. Rotting vegetables, meat that was always just turned, potatoes with eyes as big as saucers…’ Bertha lowered her eyes, ‘and that poor little wench.’

  ‘What wench?’ Molly asked, unable to contain herself.

  ‘The Townsend girl… all the kids took sick and the doctor was called in. I told the Matron that meat was too far gone, but her insisted it be used. That’s what made the kids poorly and the Townsend girl… died because of it!’ Tears rolled down Bertha’s face. ‘I had to lie to the Board, saying it weren’t the meat… I needed that job! But that kiddie haunts me, it turned her mother mad and they carted her off to the lunatic asylum! Now I ain’t got a job…”

  Cara was shocked to her core. A child had died in the workhouse! “Was anything done about it Bertha?”

  “No, not that I know of. I expect the Tulley’s got away with it!” The woman wailed.

  “But surely someone would have been told?” Gracie asked.

  “The doctor would have come, he would have seen to the kiddie. But… I don’t know if it were reported to the powers that be.” Bertha sniffed. “Oh dear God save me from going in that place as an inmate!’

  ‘You won’t, Bertha,’ Cara still reeling from the shock, assured the sobbing woman. ‘I heard the school at the end of Bow Street, over by the police station, is looking for a cook. Now, don’t fret anymore; you did the right thing… Gracie, more tea please?’

  A while later, after Bertha had left, Cara joined the others saying, ‘Well what do you make of all that?’

  ‘What I make of it is this… the Tulleys should be sacked!’ Molly said indignantly.

  ‘I can think of far worse things to do to them!’ Gracie mumbled as she cleared the tea things away. ‘Fancy a little child dying like that and the Tulley’s obviously aint suffered none by it!”

  Cara shook her head in dismay, “Poor little mite, I hope she didn’t suffer too badly.”

  “She would have,” Gracie said, “Food poisoning gives you the bellyache something chronic! The Tulleys should be jailed for what they’ve done!”

  *

  The sun shone down on Cara’s pale blue dress of fine damask. Her matching parasol shaded her head on which sat her straw boater. The day for her visit to the workhouse had arrived and as she walked briskly across the waste ground opposite her house towards Green Lanes, she was more desperate than ever now to see the inmates out as soon as possible. The information gleaned from Bertha had fueled her anger and she was adamant she would see the workhouse closed down. Wild flowers were in full bloom and insects buzzed busily between them. Even amid such poverty there was beauty if one knew where to look. Coming to the Allotment Gardens, Cara stopped to admire the flowers, everywhere a host of vibrant colours. She turned her head as the steam train whistle blew and she heard the engine rumble along the tracks.

  Arriving at the end of the dirt track, she stopped again to pass the time of day with the people in her cottages. She was amazed to see how much improved the buildings were in such a short time and pleased to discover the women had formed a baking co-operative. They had secured a stall in the marketplace and were now in a position to begin paying rent. These people had been motivated by her helping hand and their progress had been swift.

  To the men, Cara said, ‘I have more properties over in Gozzard Street if you are in a position to help the new families living there take on the repairs.’

  A chorus of ‘ayes’ went up as she passed out small bags of sweets to their children.

  ‘Cara,’ one of the women said, ‘we had an unannounced visit from Joseph Purcell the other day.’

  ‘Oh really? What did he want?’ Cara asked.

  ‘He wanted to know all about you. The cheeky bugger asked if we was paying rent! I said we wouldn’t answer his questions then I told him to sling his hook!’ The woman folded her arms with a flourish.

  ‘Well done! Thank you for that.’ Cara smiled.

  ‘We all had a bad feeling, Cara, so you just be on your guard with that man.’ The woman’s head bobbed up and down.

  ‘I will, thank you all.’

  Saying her goodbyes, Cara thought about what she’d been told about Purcell as she made her way up the dirt track. Why was he asking so many questions about her? Was he up to something and, if so, what? She felt an uneasy feeling settle on her as she continued to walk.

  Cara approached the gates of the workhouse once more, and the porter opened the gate with a doff of his cap. Cara nodded in response, wondering at his sudden change in demeanour.

  The huge oak front door was opened by a painfully thin woman who escorted Cara to the Master’s office. The woman scuttled away as Cara knocked on his door. Standing again in Tulley’s office, she noticed the sling holding his arm, but made no mention of it.

  With hardly a word between them, they walked the dark corridor to the bone and stone yard. Cara was surprised at Tulley’s seeming acquiescence but said nothing. Work stopped immediately as the men saw her, and Tulley wandered away leaving her to it. He had more pressing matters on his mind. Leaning his back against the doorway, Tulley nursed his injured arm, still cursing his wife under his breath.

  Cara spoke quietly as the men gathered around her. ‘I’m sure you are aware it is my wish to eventually get everyone out of his hateful place,’ she said, ‘but I can only do this a little at a time. That is why I’m asking for families first, but be assured… I won’t forget the rest of you. I have nine families in their own homes and in work and I now have twenty houses plus some shops badly in need of renovation
down in Gozzard Street. So, I need to know who of you still have family in here.’

  Ten hands went up. ‘Right, please stand over there, you’ll be out in three hours.’ The men brushed themselves down and moved to wait in the appointed place, grins on their faces. ‘Now, men with wives?’ Another ten hands shot up and at her nod they joined the others. To the men left behind, she said, ‘I’m sorry, today is not your day, but it will come as soon as I can manage it. Don’t lose heart, I will be back for you.’ A round of applause saw her flush to the roots of her hair.

  Cara waited outside the gates while the inmates were signed out. Pacing back and forth, she wondered how many inmates were left inside. She grinned widely when she suddenly realized all the children were free. At least now there would not be another episode like that of the Townsend child. Cara felt badly that she had been unable to help the little girl, but then she hadn’t known what was going on at that time. Now all the families were out and now some husbands and wives. She knew, however, that the Relieving Officer was still offering workhouse ‘tickets’ to the destitute. The places her charges had vacated would be filled by others soon enough. Although she was helping some of the poor of Bilston, she was treating the symptoms rather than the cause. She needed to prevent people going into the workhouse in the first place, and somehow she was determined to find a way.

  *

  Fred Tulley had lingered just inside the doorway listening to Cara’s words to the workers. So, it was her intention to clear the workhouse of its inmates! Tulley grinned to himself. That would never happen, never in a month of Sundays. There were far too many out of work and starving. He could not prevent inmates signing themselves out, but he knew others would be filling those empty places before too long. Cara Flowers was on a road to nowhere. She was, however, becoming a thorn in his side disrupting the smooth running of the place. With his wife getting drunk and trying to kill him, Fred was growing very tired of the two meddling women. He felt no remorse about what he’d done to his wife, in fact he began to wish he’d followed through with it. He smiled when he remembered the last meeting of the Board and the Doctor resigning his post. At least that had taken the heat off him and his wife. Now they would live to fight another day in the workhouse and he didn’t want to attract the attention of the Board again.