Orphans and Angels

by Linda Finlay

  ‘Well, that’s grand then,’ Sheena smiled. ‘I’ll look forward to meeting the pupils. The one I saw earlier was trying to escape.’

  ‘Ah, that’ll be Solomon, no doubt. We call him our Tuesday child as that was the day he came here. Poor chap, he lost his father in a terrible fire,’ Harry explained.

  ‘Oh, no,’ Sheena cried, covering her face with her hand as she remembered calling him a firecracker. She really must be more careful.

  ‘It’s a difficult time for him but we’re keeping an eye on his welfare. Now, I really must be getting back to the classroom.’ Harry hesitated. ‘Would you like to sit in on my lesson for the rest of the morning?’ he offered. Sarah stared at him in surprise. He was usually so precious about his work and had only invited her to join him just before the Local Authority inspectors were due to pay a visit. But then she wasn’t a teacher, was she?

  ‘That would be grand,’ Sheena enthused, smiling at him warmly. He beamed back so eagerly, Sarah nearly fell off her chair in surprise.

  She couldn’t fault Miss O’Reilly’s passion, Sarah thought, watching them leave. If only she could summon the same enthusiasm for the paperwork on her desk.

  Amongst the usual clutch of bills in that morning’s mail was another letter from Mr Fothergill, but before she could open it there was a knock on the door. Would she get nothing done today, she thought, forcing down a sigh of exasperation.

  ‘’Xcuse me, ma’am.’ She looked up to find a swarthy man dressed in dirty overalls, leering at her from the doorway.

  ‘May I help you?’ she asked, suppressing a shudder.

  ‘More a case of me who can help you,’ he grinned, revealing tobacco-stained teeth. ‘Been asked to take a look at yer roof.’ He whistled and shook his head. ‘’Tis in a right sorry state, from what I can see, and that temporary patching looks suspect. Lots of tiles need replacing on the southern side where the winds lifted ’em and then there’s the …’

  ‘Perhaps you could just give me an idea of what it will cost?’ Sarah asked, interrupting what promised to be a litany of defects.

  ‘Think I’d better talk to the boss. I mean, a pretty thing like you don’t want to worry about filthy lucre.’

  ‘Lucre?’ she frowned.

  ‘Lolly,’ he grinned. ‘Brass.’

  ‘Oh, money. Well, Mr …?’

  ‘Tyler,’ he chortled. ‘Good name for a good roofer, eh?’

  ‘Well, Mr Tyler, I am Miss Sullivan, the boss, as you put it,’ she informed him, fighting down her irritation when she saw the astonishment in his eyes. ‘I took over when my godfather, Dr Lawrence, died last year. Perhaps you’d like to send me an estimate for the work you perceive necessary,’ she added briskly.

  The man whistled. ‘Never done that afore. The doctor just let me get on with things, then paid me the damages. You won’t find a fairer or better worker than me, Miss Sullivan.’

  ‘I’m sure I won’t, Mr Tyler, and I’m not questioning your integrity,’ Sarah told him, crossing her fingers. ‘However, before I can agree to any work being done, I have to secure the necessary funding. In order to do that, I need to have the “damages”, as you put it, in writing. Is that a problem?’

  The man scratched his head. ‘Not for me it ain’t, but it could be for you, being as how they’re sayin’ we’re in for sleet and snow showers.’

  Sarah stifled another sigh. Melting snow would get in through gaps in the broken tiles. Pip and April already worked hard to clear up any leaks and she couldn’t expect them to keep on mopping up puddles and drying out bedding. However, there simply wasn’t enough in the school’s bank account to pay for replacement tiles and goodness only knew what else.

  ‘I can’t risk the pupils getting wet this cold weather so could you just patch up the gaps again until we have the money?’ she asked hopefully.

  ‘I could,’ he agreed, staring at her thoughtfully.

  ‘Thank you,’ she cried.

  ‘Cors, it will cost more that way, it having to be done twice, like,’ he began, scratching his head.

  I might have known, she thought, staring down at her desk

  ‘If snow is forecast, it appears I have no choice, Mr Tyler,’ she replied. ‘When can you start?’

  ‘Just so happens I’m free today,’ he grinned. ‘I’ll take a proper look around, then go and get the necessary materials.’

  ‘Thank you, Mr Tyler,’ she replied. ‘I’ll show you upstairs.’

  ‘No need to get up, missus. I know the way,’ he said, giving her a mock salute and disappearing outside.

  What a repugnant man, Sarah thought. Had she done the right thing allowing him to start work before she had the money, she wondered, fighting down a prickle of unease. Yet she really had no choice, did she? The children’s welfare came first. She’d have to worry about the bill when it came in.

  Catching sight of the letter she’d abandoned earlier, she snatched it up. As she read the contents, all thoughts of Mr Tyler vanished. Lady Chorlton would receive her at 3 p.m. on Thursday 28 February. Apparently, she resided at Hesketh Crescent, which wasn’t an address Sarah was familiar with, but no doubt Mrs Daws would know. Getting to her feet, she caught sight of the motto on the wall and smiled. Love Never Faileth. It would be the perfect opportunity to thank their benefactress for all her previous assistance and mention funding for the roof. Of course, she’d explain they were trying to raise the necessary money themselves but it was a mammoth task and not one they could manage without something short of a miracle.

  ‘That new mistress seems nice,’ Mrs Daws commented as soon as Sarah entered the kitchen. ‘Saw you were busy so she popped in here to say hello. I asked her to stay for luncheon.’

  ‘After all you said about Miss Green cadging free meals, I’m surprised at you, Mrs Daws,’ Sarah replied, remembering how the housekeeper had taken exception to the thin-lipped, grasping woman who had been the previous travelling mistress.

  ‘I just thought it would be a friendly gesture. Make her feel welcome, like,’ the housekeeper muttered, slamming the lid on the pan with a clatter. ‘Anyhow, she had to go and get her grandmother’s luncheon. Said she’ll be back for afternoon lessons.’

  ‘Miss O’Reilly is so pretty,’ April gushed, looking up from the pastry she was rolling out.

  ‘Goodness, she does seem to have made a good impression,’ Sarah laughed.

  ‘Especially with the master,’ April giggled. ‘He couldn’t take his eyes off her.’

  8

  When Sheena entered the classroom, she found the girls staring out of the window.

  ‘A very good afternoon, everyone,’ she called cheerily. ‘It’s certainly a nippy old one out there,’ she added, unwinding the bright muffler and pulling off her cap.

  ‘How did you get here? We didn’t see you walk past the window,’ Kitty asked.

  Sheena laughed. ‘To be sure, I arrived by shanks’s pony.’

  ‘You’ve got a pony?’ Monday gasped, her eyes widening.

  ‘I likes that name – Shanksy,’ June whispered.

  ‘Well, actually …’ Sheena began.

  ‘I said she were different, didn’t I?’ Kitty cried, clapping her hands delightedly. ‘Where’ve you put him? By the big tree down the end of the garden, I bet. Will he be all right by himself?’

  Seeing their faces glowing with excitement, Sheena hadn’t the heart to disillusion them. Besides, didn’t a little magic brighten the day?

  ‘The little people will look after him.’ The words were out of her mouth before she’d had time to think.

  ‘What little people?’ Edith asked.

  Sheena hid her dismay. Hadn’t it been her runaway tongue that had got her into trouble before?

  ‘Those lovely pint-sized folk who care for good people and animals,’ she said quickly. ‘Now take your seats, my angels, and we’ll begin our lessons.’

  ‘Can we learn more about the little people?’ Monday squealed excitedly. ‘I’ve never heard of them before.’


  As they all stared at her expectantly, Sheena realized she’d boxed herself into a corner.

  ‘Tell you what,’ she said. ‘If you pay attention to your lessons I’ll tell you a story about the little people afterwards.’ To her relief this satisfied them and with much scraping of stools on the stone floor, they took their seats.

  ‘Now, my angels, in order to help me get to know you, I’ve made some little badges on which I’d like you to write your names.’

  As she walked around distributing them, Kitty asked, ‘Aren’t you going to wear one, miss?’

  ‘Well, there’s only one of me so you’ll be sure to remember my name now, won’t you?’

  ‘You speak differently to us, Miss O’Reilly. All singsong like the birds.’

  Sheena looked at the name on the girl’s badge and smiled. ‘Well, Sally, I come from another country called Ireland and it’s how we talk there.’

  ‘Never heard of it,’ Kitty shrugged.

  ‘Ireland is separated from England by a large expanse of water called the Irish Sea, and although it is a long way away, Ireland is still part of the United Kingdom.’

  ‘The what?’ Edith frowned.

  ‘Have you not heard of the United Kingdom?’ As they all looked blankly at her, she chuckled. ‘I’m thinking we’ll have a little geography lesson then. Now listen here, my angels, the United Kingdom is made up of four countries, Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland.’

  ‘Blimey, I only knows about Devonshire. Where are all these other places, then?’ Edith cried.

  ‘Devonshire is a county, Edith. Lots of counties make up a country and these four countries make up the United Kingdom,’ Sheena explained. Seeing their perplexed looks, she began worrying she’d pitched the impromptu lesson too high. Then Monday smiled and took something from her pocket.

  ‘My dadda works on the sea and he brought me this globe. It’s got all the countries in the whole world on it.’

  ‘That’s wonderful. Might I borrow your globe to show everyone exactly where these countries are, please, Monday?’ The little girl proudly handed it over and they watched in fascination as Sheena pointed to each one in turn.

  ‘I expect Dadda’s been to them all,’ Monday said.

  ‘Then he’s a lucky man, for travel is a wondrous thing,’ Sheena smiled. ‘Now I’ll write the names up on the blackboard,’ she said, picking up the chalk. ‘Each country has a symbol called an emblem to represent it. Would you like to know what they are?’ When they nodded eagerly, she drew a thistle alongside Scotland, a leek next to Wales, a rose next to England, and a shamrock next to Ireland.

  ‘I never heard of a shamrock afore,’ Ellen said.

  ‘It is similar to a clover plant,’ Sheena explained.

  ‘And we all knows what they are, ’cos they cover the fields the cattle are in,’ Kitty laughed. ‘You know, miss, this is quite interesting for a lesson.’

  ‘It’s great you think that way, Kitty, because if you enjoy what you’re learning it will stay with you. Now, I believe you usually do sewing today, my angels?’

  ‘Worse luck,’ Kitty groaned, rolling her eyes.

  ‘You don’t like needlework?’

  ‘I love it,’ Edith sighed.

  ‘But I don’t,’ Kitty grumbled.

  ‘So, what do you like to do?’ Sheena asked.

  ‘I prefer being on the farm skinning rabbits to being cooped up in class,’ Kitty stated.

  Seeing the spark of challenge in her eyes, Sheena smiled. ‘Being able to prepare food for the pot is a good skill to have and will ensure you never go hungry.’ Seeing the girl’s grudging admiration, Sheena decided to push home her advantage. ‘However, you will also need to learn other skills to get on in life.’

  ‘Like what?’ Kitty muttered.

  Aware her answer would determine whether she’d be perceived a mistress worth listening to, Sheena smiled brightly.

  ‘Well, why don’t we decide between us exactly what we need to know?’

  ‘You mean you’re interested in what we have to say?’ Edith gasped.

  ‘Of course, Edith. When you leave here you will all need to earn a living, won’t you?’ They murmured in agreement. ‘Then let’s discuss the possible positions that interest you and what skills you’ll need. So much of your time will be spent working, it’s worth thinking about what you’d enjoy doing. Then when you marry and have your own family you will be able to use those skills to run a good household.’

  ‘Do you enjoy teaching, miss?’ Edith asked.

  ‘Indeed I do, but I had to work hard at my lessons.’

  ‘Yeah, but that ain’t goin’ to be much use when you ’ave a family,’ Kitty snorted.

  ‘You think?’ Sheena asked. ‘Well, why don’t we start with you, Kitty? What would you like to do when you leave Red Cliffs?’

  ‘I want to work on a farm, make butter, cheese, that kind of thing. Not do needlework,’ she added.

  ‘We’ll write that down,’ Sheena said, taking up the chalk again. ‘Kitty needs to learn how to make butter and cheese. Edith, how about you?’

  ‘That’s easy, I want to be a seamstress to a rich lady.’

  Smiling at the girl’s positivity, Sheena wrote that down next to her name, then moved on to the others. By the time she’d asked them all the left-hand side of the board was full.

  ‘Now, my angels, we need to decide which of these skills will be useful to run your own household. Kitty wants to make butter and cheese. Will she need those for her own home?’

  ‘Yes, ’cos we has butter and cheese at luncheon,’ Monday said.

  ‘That’s right, Monday. And what about sewing?’

  ‘Yes,’ they chorused. ‘’Cos we’ll have to make clothes and turn sheets.’

  ‘Baking bread and cakes?’

  ‘Yes, so we can eat them with the cheese,’ Monday cried. And so it went on until finally they reached Maggie’s name.

  ‘I want to teach like you, miss,’ she said.

  ‘Like I said before, that ain’t goin’ to be much good when you wed, is it, girl?’ Kitty snorted. ‘I’ve yet to hear a man listen to anything a woman says.’

  ‘That’s as maybe,’ Sheena smiled. ‘But what about sums? A good household needs to run to a budget and that is a skill any man would appreciate in a wife. Besides, what about children?’ Sheena asked. ‘Teaching them to read and write would give them a good start in life, would it not?’

  ‘Here, you’ve been bloody clever, miss,’ Kitty cried, almost beside herself. ‘All them columns go together, don’t they?’

  Sheena smiled, deciding not to dampen the girl’s enthusiasm by correcting her language. That could wait for another day.

  ‘Well spotted, Kitty. The skills you learn in school will not only help you gain good positions, they will ensure you are able to run a household within budget and enable you to give your children a good start in life.’

  ‘Except I ain’t never going to marry,’ Kitty declared.

  Taken aback by the girl’s vehemence, Sheena endeavoured to keep her voice neutral. ‘You’ll still need to know how to run a home, though, Kitty. Or are you intending to stay at Red Cliffs all your life?’

  ‘Cors not. Although this is the best home I ever had since Mother left Father and took up with that …’

  ‘Yes, I can see Red Cliffs is a splendid place,’ Sheena cut in quickly. ‘Now, my angels, you have done very well this afternoon, so gather round and we’ll have that story before the bell goes.’

  The girls were lively at supper and Sarah had to remind them to finish their meal before talking. She was dying to ask how the lessons with the new mistress had gone but knew it was important to keep order at the table. As soon as they’d finished eating, though, it was April who asked about their lessons.

  ‘Did you enjoy your afternoon with Miss O’Reilly?’

  ‘It was great fun,’ Ellen told her.

  ‘She came on her horse,’ Monday cried.

  ‘Really?�
� April asked. ‘I didn’t see any horse.’

  ‘He’s called Shanksy and he’s looked after by the little people,’ June sighed. ‘We had a story all about them.’

  ‘You didn’t do your sewing?’ Sarah enquired.

  ‘No, thank ’eavens,’ Kitty replied.

  ‘What did you learn then?’ Sarah persisted when she saw the master taking an interest.

  ‘Well, we didn’t really do lessons as such,’ Edith said.

  ‘Miss told us about Ireland, that’s where she comes from. It’s part of the United Kingdom,’ Sally said.

  ‘And we found all the countries on my globe,’ Monday said proudly.

  ‘We also learned their emblems,’ Sally added. ‘Miss O’Reilly is really good at drawing.’

  ‘And she told us why learning is important. If we take it seriously we’ll get good positions and everything we learn will help us when we have our own homes as well,’ Maggie added.

  ‘Oh? How?’ Sarah asked, frowning.

  ‘’Cos knowing sums will help us balance the budget,’ Edith explained.

  ‘Well, you can’t argue with that,’ Mrs Daws said, as she collected up the serving dish. ‘It sounds to me as if you’ve had a good afternoon’s learning, lessons or no. Now, how about putting some of it to good use in the kitchen?’ For once the girls followed her without moaning about the chores they had to do.

  ‘They certainly sound as though they covered a lot of ground,’ Harry said, coming over to the table with his cup of tea.

  ‘But what about their sewing?’ Sarah couldn’t help asking. ‘The whole idea is to teach them how to become self-sufficient so that they can get good jobs and earn a decent wage.’

  ‘Plenty of time for that, surely? It’s obvious Miss O’Reilly has captured their imagination, which means they’ll listen to what she has to say.’

  ‘But a pony called Shanksy? What was that all about?’ To her surprise, Harry threw back his head and laughed.

  ‘Oh, Sarah, you’re priceless. Have you never heard the expression “shanks’s pony”? It refers to someone who walks everywhere.’