The night air hit her, cool in the rushing wind, and at once she was overwhelmed with her surroundings. Ellie gasped.
This area was roughly three to four times the size of the main room in the pub and it comfortably held what already seemed to be upwards of one hundred people. The surrounding walls were made of the same light grey brick as the front of the building and stretched up several stories with balconies and walkways on all sides. Dark, curved, wrought iron railings lined the balconies and multitudes of people were now resting on them looking down to the area below. In the center of the courtyard a fountain flowed and bubbled peacefully while a fire crackled in a massive fireplace in the middle of the back wall. The smell of pitch and spice and roasted meat filled the air.
Ellie took a deep breath, turning her gaze towards the sky, and it was only then that she realized the extent of the beauty of this place.
It was a courtyard. A true, open air courtyard unlike anything she’d ever seen in Manchester. The entire expanse of the sky was breathtakingly raw. She hadn’t seen stars this clearly since the night before her family left the village she grew up in. That night she sneaked out of her room, went to the nearby fields of soft grass, and laid down. She spread her arms out and just breathed. The world flowed into her and through her, and she was content. More than content.
The same thing was happening to her now.
The steady hum of conversations echoed against the walls in a comforting vibration. Everything glistened vibrantly—above her and around her and within her—filling her with such an extreme sense of place in this universe.
“Ellie? Are you—”
“Shh!” She held up a finger to silence him as she continued to try to take it all in.
Ellie felt a surge of compassion for these people rise up inside of her. She hadn’t even talked to anyone and yet she already knew there was such a sense of community and caring here. This place and the people in it were moving her in ways she hadn’t been prepared to feel.
And Cal… the thought of him was moving her again as well. She realized all at once that he had taken their brief time together to actually get to know her in ways that no one ever had, and maybe never would. He had looked past the nerves and insecurities to find something special and valuable inside of her. And then he’d brought her along to this meeting, possibly at great risk, because he knew just how much it would mean to her to have the chance to help. It was more than she could have ever hoped for.
She quietly thanked the Universe for Cal and then she quietly cursed him.
Damn him. Damn him to whatever hell might have him because he had been exactly right. She loved this place.
But she wasn’t about to let him in on any of that just yet.
***
Cal continued to closely watch Ellie as he had been all night, but now as he stood within earshot he was finally beginning to relax.
He’d worried about her from the moment they met up earlier in the evening when he hadn’t been able to tell her ‘no,’ all the time they walked through the workers’ district to the pub, and then even still once they’d arrived at the pub. He’d been certain he could protect her from any outside force that might come upon them but he knew he would not be able to protect her from herself.
He’d realized, not too long after meeting her for the first time that Ellie felt and understood the world at a much deeper level than most other people did. This was just what she needed in order to connect with the workers and learn from them what he needed her to learn, but he was also worried how this ability might hinder her. This place and all the people who lived here carried such an intense air about them that he was afraid how she would react to it all and how it would affect her.
It was sometimes hard for him to break the habit of feeling responsible for everything around him, of feeling the need to step in and take control and protect, but he should have known better by now than to worry about her in this way. Only three days in and he already knew that Ellie could mostly take care of herself. She had an innate knack to overcome any situation that was put to her and this situation was no different.
After exploring the outside courtyard with wide and curious eyes—he’d been right, she loved this place, even though she was stubbornly choosing not to mention it—she found a large, empty table and sat down, unbundling her food. She didn’t approach anyone and she didn’t say a word, but before Cal knew it the people came to her. Yes, she had a table full of food. Of course that attracted them to her initially, but there was something else to it all because once they were there with her she had to keep them there. And she did. Without flinching, she did.
Ellie and the table were soon surrounded leaving little more than standing room. Cal was forced to step away from her to leave room for the others, but he stayed close enough to listen in on the conversations.
“They really pay you that little?” Ellie frowned with genuine concern. “I never used to believe it when my… family told me.”
“Aye.” The man standing to her right ruffled his copper hair. “And if it’s not bad enough that they take us for an arm and a leg in our pay, then they want that much and more back in rent!”
“Wait. Are you telling me that you don’t own your—” she cleared her throat, “—homes?”
“Lord no! As if we could afford something like that.” The woman on Ellie’s left, whom Cal had determined was the first man’s wife, laughed so loudly she woke up the baby at her breast. She cradled the patch of his bright hair, rocking him, as she quietly continued. “As is, most of us have to share with several other families just to get by. We each get a room. Well, some of us do. Mostly it’s really more like three quarters of a room, one family taking in another family’s overflow… Though, that’s not even always true either. The O’Connor’s don’t even have that. Eight of them share one room with three more from a few different families…”
“I honestly can’t even imagine.” Ellie’s bottom lip shook a bit but she took a deep breath and carried on before anyone besides Cal was able to see it. “So if none of you own the homes, who does own them?”
“Who do you think?” came the voice of a second man standing off to the side with his arms crossed. “Same people who own everything around here...”
“The mill owners?” Ellie asked, slightly off put by the tone of his voice.
“Of course… And the factory owners and the merchants and the wealthy business men. Anyone and everyone but us… What do you care anyway? You’re not one of us.”
Cal perked up. Well, there’s the one, he thought. He’d been certain there would be some tension due to their presence here. There always was at least one person looking for trouble when Cal came to these meetings alone. But things had been going so well for Ellie, he’d forgotten for a moment the inherent danger in bringing her here. He readied himself in case she needed him but the woman at Ellie’s side beat him to it.
“Ach. Cool yourself, Sean,” the woman said raising her hand up behind her. “She’s only trying to understand.”
“Why? What’s it to ya, lass?”
The woman answered for Ellie again. “She’s already told us all about her dear friends and how they’ve lost loved ones in those mills. And how one of her friends made it out of this life because her family worked hard to make it possible. And how her other friend told her about our cause and she promised to help so that none of these deaths would be in vain...”
The man called Sean took a step towards Ellie, regarding her with a suspicious glance—one that did not even make Ellie flinch—before addressing the mother again. “And how do we know she’s not spinning us a tale, now Caitlin? None of us know her and this story sounds a bit too perfect to me...”
“Does it matter if we know her or if her story is true or not? I for one don’t care a lick. You know what I do care about? Kindness and compassion—two things we sorely need ‘round here, especially in these tough times. And I also care that she’s here and she’s willing to help this cause
and us. All of us. Even the filthy lot of us like you, Sean.”
He tightened his jaw. “And how do you know she really wants to help?”
Caitlin’s jaw gaped at the question and she looked at Sean in disgust as if she couldn’t believe she was actually having to explain. “Can’t you feel it? Coming right off her. Such caring. Such... Love. That’s what it is then. Love.” The woman looked to Ellie. “We don’t feel that much around here so there’s no mistaking it when it comes around.”
“I feel it, dear,” Caitlin’s husband agreed as he squeezed her shoulder. Several other people smiled and mumbled the same causing Ellie’s face to turn a brilliant shade of red. Sean looked at everyone as if they were crazy.
“I don’t feel anything.”
“Well, I wouldn’t think so,” Caitlin said. “You’d need a heart.”
The man clenched his teeth at the chiding. “I don’t trust her, and I’m telling you there’s something strange about this.”
“Well, the hell with you Sean. You can do as you wish, but I for one am not too proud to take the help. I say we’re lucky to have help with this cause in any way, from anyone. Isn’t that the point of all of this anyway?” Caitlin gestured with her free arm to all the people around her.
“Exactly,” Ellie now added with a gentle touch on Caitlin’s arm. “I thought that was the entire point. Coming together, working together, because we’re stronger together than we are alone. And when we work together it doesn’t matter who is who or where we came from. We’re all the same and we’re all equal.”
“Hear, hear!” Caitlin’s husband said pounding his fist on the table with each word. Everyone gathered around repeated his phrase and returned the gesture. Everyone but the bitter man that was. He rolled his eyes and retreated, but stayed near enough to keep listening.
Cal wanted to kiss Ellie. He beamed from ear to ear at the incredible trust she was building with these people. And the longer Cal watched Ellie, the more real and powerful her compassion, care, and strength became. There was an essence about her demeanor that told the people they could trust her implicitly, and so it seemed, from the conversations he was hearing, that they needed to trust her. They needed someone to talk to and Ellie was filling that impossible void. She was taking to the people here as if she’d known them her entire life and they were taking to her in just the same way.
And she did it with just as much ease as she breathed.
The most amazing part, he realized as he watched her, was that it was in all the little things. It was in the way she broke off a piece of bread with such care for the tired children, it was in the delicate touch of her hand on a mother’s arm as she listened to the woman’s sorrows, and in the truly focused demeanor of her eyes and the timbre of her voice as she discussed the real concerns of the mills with the workers and their families. There was even the occasional bout of laughter, timed just so perfectly, that Cal swore he could actually see the weight being lifted off of the people. And then, just when he thought he couldn’t possible care for her any more, she pulled out a needle and thread and began making minor repairs to clothing as everyone conversed. In this moment he felt his feelings for her increase ten-fold. He was glowing and so was she.
“And they expect you to… how can they expect you to pay so much for—pardon my saying this—but for someplace so sad and run down?” Ellie asked now with a frown.
“Oh, no pardons needed.” Caitlin smiled softly. “We’re well aware of the state we live in. That’s one of the many reasons why we’re here. As far as the costs though… As much as they charge us for those run-down structures they call homes, it’s still less than the cost of halfway decent lodgings. But by charging us what they do, we have nothing left. Sometimes less than nothing, so we have no hope of ever getting out. Because where else are we going to live? How would we pay for it? They charge us that much because they can. It’s that simple.”
“It’s sad but true,” Caitlin’s husband added. “When you own everything around you, and can do anything you want, and take advantage of people as they do, it’s not a far stretch for them to believe that they own us. Some people might say they actually do… but not me. Not any of us here. Not anymore…” He leaned over and embraced his wife and son tightly.
Ellie smiled. “What do you mean to do about it? What would you change if you could?”
“Well, for one, they can stop pitting us against each other.” A third, younger man’s voice now joined the conversation. “The privileged have been doing that for centuries. Making all us workers compete against each other… now that’s an age old distraction if I ever saw one. And it distracts us from the real issues—that it’s not our fellow workers who are the problem; it’s the privileged. It’s those who ‘have’ that are making sure the rest of us ‘have not.’ But that won’t work anymore. They can’t do that if we work together. That’s the first step. That’s why we’re here.”
“Well,” Ellie cleared her throat. “What about any specific goals? Do you have any of those? What exactly is it that you want?”
“That’s a very fine question, and an easy one to answer: an honest day’s work, an honest day’s wage, a comfortable home, and a pretty young lass to come home to… like you.” The young man took a large swig of his ale to the chorus of cheers and whistles.
Cal shifted protectively and Ellie was, once more, the color of embers.
“Oh, well,” Ellie put her hands to her cheeks and looked down, failing miserably at hiding a smile and the color of her skin.
“Ah. So it seems a man already has that privilege. Lucky bastard.” The young man took another drink and held up his hand as if taking an oath. “Is he here? Tell me which man he is who has left you unprotected from men the likes of me and I’ll fight for your honor!”
Ellie’s eyes made a sharp, seemingly involuntary pass at Cal, before quickly moving away. The glance only lasted for a second but it was long enough for everyone to follow her line of sight.
“Ahhh. You’re with that one over there are you? It all makes sense now. Always asking too many questions, that one,” Sean hissed, joining the conversation once more. “Just like you.”
Hell. Cal hoped to stay out of this one as much as necessary and just let Ellie do what she could, especially now that he saw how well she was interacting with everyone. In this one night she’d managed to gain more useful information than he had in the last month. He didn’t exactly have enemies here but he wasn’t nearly as adept at making friends as she was. Unless of course, he was playing the part of a rake, which wasn’t helpful in this setting. He didn’t want to risk the progress she’d made by letting their association be known. That was no longer an option.
“She’s protected, as is her honor,” Cal said stepping forward. The younger man graciously backed down with a nod. Cal nodded to him in return and then took Ellie by the hand, helping her to stand. Her fingers quivered in his and her face shone with pride at his claim. “I wasn’t aware that being social and caring was so suspicious…” he said in Sean’s direction.
“It’s not!” Caitlin answered before turning around with a wagging finger. “And I’ll say it again, Sean. Nothing wrong with questions. I’d rather someone ask questions than just make an assumption about the answer. Thank you for that, dear.”
Ellie stood next to Cal now, holding his hand tightly and happily. “No, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to ask the questions and for gracing me with answers. I—” she looked down nervously. “I do hope I will be welcomed back for a chance to get to know more about you. And help in any way I can.”
“Anytime. Just tell that man of yours to bring you along,” Caitlin said with a wink.
“Oh… he’s not really my—”
“Of course. She’ll be back.” Cal glared at Sean and the younger man. “And so will I.”
Caitlin laughed and stood up, hugging Ellie deeply, before bidding her good night as Cal led her away.
“These people are just so… I don’t even
know what I imagined, but it wasn’t this. They’re truly incredible. I couldn’t be happier to be doing this for them. I just can’t thank you enough for bringing me—”
“You brought a needle and thread?” Cal asked.
“Of course,” she answered as if he had asked an extremely ridiculous question. “I never know when I might need to repair something. Turns out I was more than right this time…”
“Oh lord.” He wrapped her in his arms and held her tight.
“What?” she asked quizzically.
“You.”
“What about me?”
“Oh, you know.”
She exhaled and when he looked down at her he saw her biting her lip. “Am I doing it? Again?”
“No,” he laughed. “Not that. But everything else. Everything so wonderful and kind and surprising and just so… Ellie.”
“Did you just use my name as an adjective?”
“I suppose I did. What of it?”
“Well, that seems like a very big burden, to have one’s name used in that way.”
“Not a burden. An honor. And you carry it with poise and dignity.”
Ellie snorted into his side. “Poised and dignified? Me?”
“In this case, yes.”
He felt her shrug against him in disagreement.
“No. I mean it. Sometimes it takes looking at ourselves through another’s eyes to really see who we are.”
“And just who am I, then? Tell me.”
“You’re stronger than you know.” A pause. “Who am I?” he asked though he was afraid of the answer.
“You’re a better person than you know.” Now she paused. “But I’ve told you that before. Haven’t you been listening?”
“I will from now on.”
“Good. Because I meant it the first time I said it and I mean it even more now. You’re a good man, Cal… whatever—Your—full—name—is.” He saw her smile in private amusement and then twist her mouth in an attempt to hide it. “And I’ll make a better point of listening to you, too. I expect anyone who’s taken as much time getting to know me as you have in such a short time, flaws and all, must know a thing or two about me.”
Love and Other Wicked Games (A Wicked Game Novel) Page 14