Vintage Love

by Clarissa Ross

  “Is the city as busy as this every day?” she asked.

  “Every day and a good part of the night,” Moll assured her. “Greatest city in the world!”

  “Give pause!” Silas Hodder told the girl. “You have not seen Paris. As a boulevardier of some experience I can vouch for the many offerings of that city!”

  “Wouldn’t hold a candle to London, I’m sure,” Moll said firmly. “Those Frenchies could never match us!”

  They waited for a dray to rumble by and then hurried across a narrow street to find themselves staring at a sign, “Branscomb the Baker.” Silas Hodder led them in a side door which led to the rear of the premises. They entered the busy kitchen and sat at a plain wooden table removed from the hurly-burly of the oven area. Two fat men and six or seven boys kept filling the great ovens with items to be baked and taking the savory-smelling food cooked out.

  An elderly woman in apron and dustcap brought them plates with bread and cheese, along with a large pot of tea. The dried-up face of the old woman broke into a tremulous smile as she said, “Right on time, Mr. Hodder! You are a gent who keeps on a schedule.”

  “Early training, my dear,” Silas Hodder said with pride. “I have a guest this morning, a Miss Fanny Hastings, lately come to London.”

  “Pleased to know you, miss,” the thin woman greeted her. “You’re welcome! Eat hearty!”

  The cheese, bread and tea were fresh and Fanny wolfed her share down. The old woman came with another half loaf of bread for them and an extra chunk of cheese. Silas Hodder carefully divided it among them.

  Fanny asked him, “Do you know the owner, since he is so generous with you?”

  “Know him, my girl! I may say I’m employed by him,” Silas Hodder said. “Between my engagements at the various pubs I tread the streets for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon bearing the yoke of yonder sign upon my shoulders!”

  Fanny glanced up the wall where he’d pointed and for the first time saw a sandwich-board sign folded and leaning there. It was painted white and in large red letters announced, “Branscomb’s is Best! Fine Bakery 10 A Canon Street.”

  Moll smiled at her across the plank table. “In exchange for being a sandwich-board man, Silas is given all he can eat and free meals for any friends he brings along. I come with him regular and so can you.”

  Silas waved an expansive hand. “All paid for!”

  “That’s very good,” Fanny agreed. “So right off you both have free bed and board!”

  Moll turned up her nose at the mention of this. “I’m not saying I enjoy sleeping in a graveyard but in winter the nights are cold and Silas manages to keep our tomb nice and warm.”

  “Nothing wrong with graveyards as resting places,” the gaunt-faced Silas said. “For some, it’s eternal rest; for us it is a more pleasant temporary arrangement.”

  “Breaking us in for what’s to come!” The sharp Moll burst into laughter at her own sally.

  Silas remonstrated with her, raising a protesting hand. “No unseemly humor, girl. Be grateful. Now let us put our minds to what our new found friend, Fanny, can do to earn a living.”

  “She could try my game,” Moll said. “I can teach her the tricks!”

  Fanny at once said, “Thank you, Moll. But I haven’t the nerve for it. I could never carry it off!”

  Moll grinned. “Not much to it. A bit of sniffling and a mention of the Dear Departed. Then a sad smile for the babe to come. By that time they’re thrusting a sovereign or two in your palm and pushing you out the door.”

  Silas Hodder said, “I’m sure Fanny is seeking something a trifle more … respectable.”

  “I would like to make my way on the stage,” Fanny said. “My late father was an actor and I have always wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

  “The stage,” Silas Hodder repeated. “Now let me see. I must know someone connected with the theatre.”

  “All those blokes you meet in the taverns are well connected,” Moll agreed. “At least one of them must have a friend on the stage.”

  Silas Hodder’s skull-like countenance suddenly brightened. He thumped a fist in the palm of his hand and exclaimed, “I’ve got it! The very thing! You’re as good as hired!”

  Fanny couldn’t believe her good fortune. It made her almost forget her pain at leaving Brenmoor and George. She exclaimed, “You mean you can find me a post in the theatre?”

  Silas nodded. “I can! It is not actually in a regular theatre but in the entertainment profession! I can assure you of that! The owner of the establishment is an old friend of mine, Mr. Gilbert Tingley.”

  Moll showed amazement. “Of course! I never thought of him! The very man.” And to Fanny, she said, “Gilbert Tingley’s Emporium of Wonder is the finest thing of its kind in London!”

  Fanny said, “Emporium of Wonder? What sort of show is it?”

  “A compendium of the bizarre and the unusual,” Silas Hodder said grandly. “In short, my girl, a collection of mechanical and human freaks!”

  “Freaks!” Fanny said in dismay.

  Moll nodded happily. “You ought to see the fat woman! A mortal sight! Weighs close to four hundred pounds, they say!”

  Silas Hodder said, “Tingley is a model employer. He pays well, considering he charges only a penny for a walk through his place, and the people in his show live in rooms upstairs, very good rooms, and eat in a community dining hall in the basement. Three wholesome meals a day!”

  “It’s a kind offer,” she said. “But even if Mr. Tingley would have me it isn’t exactly what I’m looking for. I’d like to try to find something in a regular theatre.”

  Silas Hodder and Moll exchanged looks. Then the gaunt man told her, “Fanny, let me impress upon you that everyone in London is not as kind as I am. This is a hard city for a young girl. And for a young female looking for employment in the theatre the risks are monstrous!”

  Moll agreed soberly. “What Silas is saying is true. I near wound up in a house of shame when I came here. I would have but for him.”

  Silas continued, “My advice would be to take a job with Mr. Tingley if he can find a place for you. Get to know London, and in your free time look for this stage employment you are seeking, with the knowledge you have both work and friends behind you.”

  Fanny listened and realized the truth of what he was telling her. If she took a job in the freak show, doing goodness knows what, she would have time to learn something of London. She would also make some contacts of at least a semi-theatrical nature. As it was, she would exhaust her small savings in a short time while she looked for work. And as Moll pointed out, she might end up in some desperate plight.

  With a small smile for Silas, she said, “You are most kind. And I will accept your help in this.”

  “You’ll not regret it,” the gaunt man promised. “The Emporium of Wonders is closed in the mornings, so you would have all your mornings to study the city and look for better work.”

  Moll said, “You’re a beauty and if you have any talent you’ll get on the stage one day! You talk so nice!”

  Silas rose from the table. “I must go on my rounds with the sign. Moll will stay with you and you can meet me outside the Duke’s Tavern at sharp two this afternoon!”

  Moll looked delighted as she confided to Fanny, “I’ll take the morning off and show you some of the shops the toffs patronize!”

  Fanny said, “I’d like to see the Houses of Parliament and St. Paul’s Cathedral.”

  “I’ll show you them, too,” Moll promised.

  And she did. The morning went by swiftly. Fanny had her first experience of using the crowded, rough-riding horse cars. But Moll did know her way around the city and they covered a great deal of ground. They had a lunch in a small restaurant which served good food in plain fashion and in humble quarters. It was a far cry from the grandeur of the tables at Brenmoor but Fanny saw it as a different and exciting existence.

  At two o’clock they met Silas Hodder outside the p
lush Duke’s Tavern. He was in a good mood and confided to them, “I have done well this noon. My gentleman friends of better days were most generous. You’ve brought me luck, Fanny. Now let us see what I can do for you.”

  They left Molly to begin her own day’s work and walked along a series of mean streets until they came to a short side-street which had a dead end. Here over a grubby three-storey building was a painted canvas sign, “Emporium of Wonders—Freaks of the World! Open daily except Sunday from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m.”

  Silas Hodder knew the building and took her to a door in an alley which was unlocked. He led her up a dingy flight of stairs and knocked on a battered wooden door which bore a small white board on which was printed in plain black letters, “Gilbert Tingley, Manager.” Silas gave her a knowing look and then knocked on the door.

  A high-pitched voice cried out, “Don’t bother me now! I’m doing my bills!”

  Silas leaned close to the door and spoke loudly in reply. “It is Silas Hodder and I have news of advantage to you!”

  A sound which might have been a groan came in answer to this statement. There was a shuffling noise and then the door was opened by a little man with a black mustache wearing a plaid vest and brown tweed trousers. He had a stoop and he peered out at them as if he were short-sighted.

  A look of annoyance on his pinched face, Gilbert Tingley asked, “What is it you want to tell me, Silas?”

  “What sort of hospitality is this? Are you not going to invite me and this charming young lady in, Gilbert?” Silas Hodder said in hearty fashion.

  Appearing pained, the little man stood back for them to enter. “All right,” he said peevishly. “I might as well put the bills aside since I don’t have enough to pay them in any case.”

  Silas said, “May I present Fanny Hastings, a brilliant young actress from the provinces, temporarily at liberty. I have assured her that you are always on the lookout for talent.”

  Gilbert Tingley listened to this and then stared at her with his pale blue short-sighted eyes. He said, “You have a pretty face. What about experience?”

  “I sing and dance a little,” she said nervously.

  “No good here,” he said abruptly. “Have you ever been a freak?”

  “What an absurd question to ask this lovely girl!” Silas Hodder declared.

  The little man’s Adam’s apple bobbed above his hard collar and bright red cravat. He said, “Nothing absurd about it! Sit down, both of you! All Gilbert Tingley asks is a plain answer to a plain question! Has this girl ever been a freak?”

  Fanny sat in the nearest chair and Silas chose one by the impresario’s roll-top desk which was littered with papers, presumably bills. She said, “No, sir. Never!”

  “Right!” The little man said. “Do you think you could be!”

  “I should try very hard,” Fanny promised.

  “Proper spirit,” the little man said, sitting at his desk. “I put it to you this way. Lodgings and board found and five shillings a fortnight! What do you say?”

  Silas Hodder spoke up, “She says yes, of course. Not a generous offer, but then she is a beginner.”

  Fanny asked worriedly, “What sort of freak do you propose to make of me?”

  Gilbert Tingley studied her with his weak eyes. “You are fortunate I happen to have a vacancy. We have just lost our mermaid. Ran off with a fish peddler! He kept coming to see her night after night! She seemed to fair fascinate him! I should have seen the danger and discouraged him from coming. But I didn’t, and now we’ve lost a star attraction.”

  Silas said, “You are saved! Fanny will make a beautiful mermaid!”

  Fanny was still dubious about the project. She wanted to know, “What sort of costume must I wear?”

  Gilbert Tingley was all business. “A fishtail which fits about the hips and hides the lower portion of your body. Made by the top theatrical costurner in London. The scales are that real you have to see them to believe it! A most gorgeous tail! For the upper portion you wear a rose-tinted, tight-fitting vest to show your maidenly form to advantage!”

  “But it is a modest costume, Mr. Tingley?” she said anxiously.

  “Nothing is revealed, miss, but your two bare arms and your neck. The rest of your upper parts are outlined in a way to cause the male eye to stare and enjoy, and the lower portion is a work of art. You recline upon a platform painted bright blue to suggest the sea.”

  Silas Hodder gave her a look of encouragement. “It is a great opportunity, Fanny.”

  She felt it was much less than that but at least she would be safe and cared for in this place. She still hadn’t recovered from the shock of being pursued by the ugly little dwarf and his equally unpleasant companion the previous night. She had seen them kill a man and she would never be safe from them if they caught up with her.

  Another benefit of playing a mermaid occurred to her. It was entirely unlikely that George would look for her in a museum of freaks. It would be an ideal place for her to hide for a time.

  She said, “I’ll accept the post, Mr. Tingley.”

  “Excellent,” he said. “I’ll show you to your room and have our wardrobe mistress, who is also our housekeeper, fit you to the fishtail!”

  So Fanny’s future in London was launched. She thanked Silas Hodder profusely and he promised to return and see her when she made her first appearance that evening. He then left and Gilbert Tingley took her upstairs to a tiny cubicle of a room. But it was clean enough and Fanny was satisfied. The owner of the freak show left her to rest a little. But shortly after, a big, red-faced woman with the smell of gin on her breath arrived with the elegant fishtail.

  “Have to be taken in a good bit,” the big woman said, breathing heavily while she fixed pins in what appeared to Fanny a rather sensational costume.

  “What about the upper part?” Fanny worried.

  The big woman frowned as she went on with her pinning. “Do you have a blouse what fits you tight?”

  She considered. “Yes. A white one. My best.”

  “Cut the sleeves off and wear it,” the woman said. “Nothing here that would fit you.”

  “Must I cut the sleeves off?”

  “No other way,” the big woman told her flatly as she stood back to judge the fitting of the fishtail. “Mr. Tingley likes his mermaid to show a bit of flesh. The arms are safest, though a low cut bosom is good.”

  “I’m sure the blouse will be fine. It has a rather low neckline,” Fanny said.

  The big woman pulled the fishtail off and said, “Time for the noon meal. In the cellar. Community table. Give you a chance to meet the others.”

  Even before she reached the bottom of the dark stairway leading to the cellar she was able to smell a pleasant aroma of food and hear loud talking and laughing. When she stepped down into the big room with its long plank table and chairs all along it, she found herself faced by the strangest group of people she had ever met.

  Looming in the forefront was the Fat Lady who smiled at her amiably, and next to her was a man so thin and doleful Fanny knew it had to be the Human Skeleton. Across from these two sat a black man with a shaved head and some kind of bone through his nose, undoubtedly the Wild Man from Borneo! Next to him sat a midget, perfectly formed and pleasant looking but not more than three feet tall. There were a lot of others at the table whom she could not identify at a glance but later found to be a Fire-eater, Tatooed Lady, Pincushion Man plus a Bat Lady with webbed hands!

  Gilbert Tingley was seated at the head of the table like a proud father to his collection of freaks. He saw Fanny and came down the room to greet her. He seated her in a place of honor on his right, while the webbed-handed Bat Lady, who appeared to be his lady friend by their conversation, sat on his left.

  The little man rose and with a twitch of his mustache said, “Important announcement! Beginning this evening, Miss Fanny Hastings, an actress of impressive experience despite her youth, will appear with us as the Mermaid Lady!”

  There were cries of
approval and a round of applause. Fanny felt touched that they had received her so kindly and smiled her thanks, blushing delightfully all the while.

  The beef which was served was delicious, as was the rest of the meal. The kitchen was at one end of the big cellar which made the serving of meals easy. Nor was drink excluded as Mr. Tingley saw that a mug of ale was placed by every plate. Fanny was slow in drinking hers.

  “Drink up!” her new employer urged her. “A small bounty which I offer my people.”

  “You are too generous,” she told him.

  The little man shook his head. “Not at all! Gilbert Tingley has a large heart! I would do more if conditions allowed it!”

  The Bat Lady, whose features showed signs of good looks long faded, offered a simpering smile and assured Fanny, “You will find Mr. Tingley a joy to work for. I would retire if he gave up the Emporium.”

  “Thank you, my dear,” Gilbert Tingley said fondly taking one of her webbed hands in his. It was obvious that his bad vision allowed him to delude himself that he was courting a beauty.

  “You speak very nicely, Miss Hastings,” the Bat Lady said. “No doubt your training as an actress has given you a desirable accent.”

  “My father was also in the theatre,” Fanny replied, for something to say.

  Gilbert Tingley frowned. “The entertainment business is in a sorry state. The freak shows have been hurt by too many fakes. Offering two-headed babies made of clay in bottles filled with liquid and trying to pass them off as real. Disgusting! Gilbert Tingley offers only genuine freaks! But we suffer from the chicanery of others! Still I shall carry on, come what may!”

  There were more cheers from the table at this and Fanny saw that they were a warm-hearted and emotional lot of people who regarded themselves as a family. She could not have imagined such a place or such people but here she was in the midst of them, about to become one of them. Life was indeed filled with strange twists!

  • • •

  That evening she made her appearance in the main room of the Emporium of Wonders. During a short interval when the show was closed to visitors she discreetly took her place on the wooden platform provided for her and with the assistance of the housekeeper-seamstress, pulled on the now snug-fitting fishtail. She had adapted her white blouse for the upper portion and was assured by the fat lady on the platform next to her, that she looked “ever so pretty!”