A Poor Girl's Peril (#4, the Winds of Misery Victorian Romance) (A Family Saga Novel)

by Dorothy Green

  It was as good of a plan as any, she could also try to inquire at a theater house about securing a position as an actress, but she was quite hesitant to do such a thing, most actresses at the other houses were made available to the men that were in the audience, and she did not wish to go back to that lifestyle, she had escaped it once and did not want to get trapped in it once more.

  Adeline walked to White Chapel, to the factory area near the stable that she had laid her head upon the night before. There were many crowds of people lined up in front of the factories, all wishing to get work. With the lines growing longer by the second, she picked a line and stood in it. She stood for many hours.

  “Does anyone ever get picked?” She asked another woman standing in line in front of her.

  “You never can tell, dear. It is but chance that someone gets picked. Sometimes they open the gate and take in as many as 10, other times they open the gate and only need one worker. But there is no way to know unless you stand here and wait.”

  “And how long have you been waiting at this factory?”

  “I stand in this line every day and have been since last Tuesday when I was let go of the last factory I worked at.”

  “A week? You have been waiting an entire week?”

  “It is what it takes.”

  “And do you have shelter?” Adeline asked her.

  “I do. I am fortunate enough that I saved from my last factory work and I am paid up for two months of renting a bed in a tenement.”

  “And what of the workhouses? They provide with shelter and food in order to just get you off the street do they not?”

  “Yes they do, but you do not want to go there, my child. They are quite horrid places, I would not wish anyone such a horrible place.”

  “Well, if you were to choose one? Would there be one in particular that is the least horrid?”

  “Yes. There is one in Cheapside, called the Church Street workhouse. It is at the edge of Cheapside and White Chapel.”

  “Thank you.”

  Adeline felt quite terrified by the prospects ahead of her. This was not the first time she had been on her own and been through dire circumstances, for after the Dawsons threw her out of Linwood Manor she had been through quite the ordeal, but that had been long ago. Years had passed and she no longer felt the strength that she had then. She had grown accustomed to the lifestyle of a successful actress, and now she felt broken.

  But you must carry on, Adeline.

  She stood in line with the poor souls that also needed work. There were so many and she knew that her chances were low. Being at the back of the line did not help. Though she was young and strong, no one would see her potential so far back.

  The sun hit the noon hour, casting its heat down upon them. She began to sweat in the simple dress and knew she must look a fright with soot on her in the brown dress with police issued brown boots. She wondered if the clothing she wore had come off of a corpse, for where did the police get such garments? It brought a chill over her to think of such things and so she quickly put it out of her mind. Adeline you are a trained actress, just pretend that you are playing the part of a poor and destitute street rat looking for work. It will be the only thing to keep you sane until you can get situated.

  She waited all day until the factory manager opened the door and dismissed everyone. “We don’t be needing anyone else for the day. We are all full. Come back in the morning and try your luck then!”

  The crowd in line groaned but dispersed with curses under their breath. She too felt the same way, for she was no better off this day. Adeline could see that those that were waiting in line had been waiting in line at the end of the day, no one had been called in. If it continued like this then her chances were very slim of getting picked at all.

  She roamed through the park. Her belly growled and groaned. She did not care to eat for she was in such distress, but she was parched. She made her way to the public fountain and quenched her thirst. She would make it a point to get up early to go to the fountain before waiting in line again. For the heat had made her feel very thirsty and drained.

  Adeline made her way back to the stable, waiting until the stable hands had checked in all the horses. She had not eaten in two days, though she knew that she could get on without food she did need water to drink. After all had gone she found herself dipping a cup into the water trough for the horses. It tasted something terrible, but it was water after all.

  She lay down in the heap of hay that had provided her a bed the night before, until she fell asleep. The night terror set in. She felt as if it were all happening again. She breathed in heavy smoke. The fire licked its angry flame at her feet, trying to take her life. Then she would wake up coughing and choking as though it were real. She was very frightened that the stable would go up in flames, but she knew the horses would be loud to wake her. Oh why had the Douvains not adopted a dog? They would be alive with such a warning as its bark.

  The next day she waited in line once more, and then the next day. Some of these days it was possible indeed to get a few peanuts together from the park visitors that threw them at the pigeons. This was the circumstance she found herself in. Some days, too many to count in fact, Adeline could not find any food at all and her belly was grew empty by the hour and was causing great headaches and weakness. On several occasions she had felt so weak that indeed she felt sick from it, and could not move from her pile of hay in the stable, but was forced to when she would hear the men stirring in the morning to come get the horses. At that point she would just wait nearby as she lacked the strength to stand in line at the factories and could only wait until the stable would become available to her again.

  * * *

  chapter

  0 5

  * * *

  Adeline had been tempted to steal from the market. She was not by any inclination a thief, but desperate times were calling for desperate measures and the hunger in her made for reckless actions. She on the other hand was not opposed to earning a wage, any wage, but everywhere she inquired about work she was turned down. There was no work to be had and she would slink into the dark corners and alleys of the London streets waiting and waiting for her good fortune.

  The days had become long, trying to balance putting food in her belly against the amount of energy consumed in the day walking from factory to factory. Rubbish bins had become her friend, but if only she could find parchment and pen in the cans and a coin to send the letter it would make all the difference, but with many scavengers such as she all over London, there was not a rubbish bin unsearched for such things.

  Two weeks passed complete and Adeline had been eating what little she could find, sleeping in the stable with the horses, and standing in every line to every factory and workhouse she came across with little to no luck. There were many people that were homeless and in dire straits just as she, and it all seemed useless. Her hope was diminishing. How long can I go on like this?

  “You there. You’re next.“ A man pointed at her. She was shocked, and grateful that she was finally getting a chance.

  “What be your name, Miss?”

  “Adeline Simmons.”

  Finally, she was getting admitted to a workhouse, but fear overtook her. Was this really what she wanted? She had heard horrible things, but if they could get her into factory work then she could make a wage and send a letter to Katrina, and save money to make her way to Brentwood. It was her only choice. She had to take it, no matter how awful it would be, because it would only be temporary.

  “You there, take off your clothes.” A bristly woman said to Adeline as soon as she entered the side room of a vast building. The building was built of dark grey stone and took up an entire city block. It was on the eastern most end of White Chapel, and the most dangerous of the east end boroughs.

  The side room smelled of soap and water, and she thought that she had been misled about the awful conditions of the workhouses, for how could a place that smelled like soap be so awful? But sh
e was confused by the demands being ordered to her.

  “My clothes? What? Why?”

  “All those chosen to live in the workhouse must be scrubbed clean. We don’t need no crawlers getting into the workhouse or disease, more than we already have to deal with. Now quick, do as I say.”

  Adeline hugged her dress up to her neck. She was feeling very vulnerable, what kind of workhouse was this? She had no expectations, she didn’t know how they worked, but she was not expecting to have to disrobe in front of strangers.

  “Are you going to follow my orders girl, or are you going to be put back out on the street? There are plenty out there waiting in line to get in to take your place.” The woman narrowed her eyes.

  “I guess, all right then...” Adeline started to fondle the buttons on her dress, unbuttoning down the front, and then slipped the dress off of her, and her nightshift, the same that she had worn in bed the night of the fire.

  “And your boots as well.”

  Adeline looked at the dirty floor, not wanting to put her bare feet on them. She took a deep breath and quickly untied the laces on her boots and stepped out of them.

  “Right this way. Bring your items with you.” The woman put a cold hand on her back and pushed Adeline toward a hallway where a line of women stood stark naked. Adeline covered her breasts with one arm while cupping her hand over her mound between her thighs. Her knees were pressed together, as though she could hide her nakedness that way. She was very grateful that there were only women in the area, but she did not like this treatment one bit. It made her think of being at the brothel in Portsmouth, she had to push the thought out of her mind.

  Adeline could hear the pour of water, and steam flowed down the hall. She had never felt so humiliated, even when she was a courtesan.

  “Next.”

  Adeline was pushed into a very large room. There were very large round wooden tubs laid out with steam rising above the hot water in them.

  “Go on, get in.” A woman pushed her toward one of the wooden tubs.

  Adeline put her items down against the wall and then stepped into the hot tub of water, shrieking at the extreme temperature, she felt that it was practically boiling.

  “It’s hot. It is so very hot.”

  Whoosh. A bucket of hot water was poured over her head, Adeline shrieked in response. Then there were bristle brushes scraping at her skin, rubbing her practically raw.

  Another bucket and then another was poured on her head, constantly. Adeline’s skin had grew numb. She could no longer feel anything.

  Then she felt her hair being gathered and pulled on.

  “What are you doing? What is that?”

  “No one is allowed to have hair this long in this place. Trust me, you’ll thank me for this,” The woman said as she took a pair of shears and started to cut at Adeline’s long blonde hair, cutting it very short, just above her shoulders.

  “No. Wait. I didn’t agree to...”

  “Who you be? You act like the Duchess herself. I have never heard such a protest,” The woman said.

  The other women laughed at Adeline alongside this woman. She closed her mouth. She knew that she should be grateful to have shelter, and soon to have food and work, but she could not help but feel humiliated. She had the luxury of having a warm bath brought to her by the servant when she lived at the theater. She had the best creams in order to keep her skin looking youthful and supple provided by her employers who were protecting their profit, she was their actress after all and she needed to maintain her looks in order to draw an audience. Because she had that experience, this was now a shock to her, though it was not who she was in the beginning of her life. It was something that she had adapted to, and going back to being poor and poverty stricken in the most demeaning way was causing such a stir inside of her. You are stronger than this, remember.

  With that, Adeline held her head high, and stood up straight. Perhaps she could just pretend that this was a part that she was playing as an actress. It indeed was a way to cope. Her hair was now cut short and washed again. Perhaps the woman was right and it would be better to have short hair in such a place. Only she wasn’t planning to stay very long. She only needed the money to write to Katrina and then she would be sent for. What a shock Katrina would get to know she had done such a thing, and to see her long hair now gone.

  “Step out. You are done. Here is your uniform. You are lucky to have boots, most come in here barefoot. Go to that line and you will be shown to your bed. Take your things.”

  “Thank you.” Adeline responded with a sense of gratitude instead of a complaint. She stepped out of the tub. She grabbed the white plain dress uniform and her plain brown dress that was handed to her, the uniform was very stained, but at least it had been washed. She pulled it on over her head and stepped away onto dryer stone. She dried her wet feet and legs with her brown dress that had been given to her by Scotland Yard before she put on her boots. There, she felt fresh, though it was the most violent bathing she had ever had. It felt good to have the soot off of her and the smell of horses and sweat.

  She followed the flow of women to another line. There was a woman is shouting orders and rules and she was quick to listen.

  “You will be shown to your room to find a bed. There will be a sheet and blanket on it. We wash everything including your uniform once a week. You will be given a different uniform then to put on. You will bring your dirty uniform and dirty sheets and blanket to the laundry room on a laundry day. If you do not then you will not get clean items in exchange. Eating times are at the hour of seven in the morning, and noon, and at seven in the evening. In between you will be assigned to work here in the workhouse, scrubbing floors, doing dishes, doing laundry. If you wish to be assigned to a factory for a meager wage then you will need to get on the waiting list. Your name will be called when a spot at a factory opens, and the workhouse claims half of your wages from the factory.”

  * * *

  chapter

  0 6

  * * *

  Waiting list? I thought I would be put to work straight away. This just continues to get worse and worse, but remember you have a bed and shelter, it is better than eating from garbage cans and sleeping with the horses.

  “That is all, follow me.” The line of women followed the woman as she led them into a large hallway. Adeline put her brown dress over her nose and mouth. The smell was unbearable. It was the distinct smell of vomit and urine, that just seemed to live in the stone.

  Women and children were on their hands and knees scrubbing the floors and walls with brushes and soapy water. All of them had black smeared faces, were very skinny, with dark circles under their eyes. Some of them seemed barely able to move, so weak. Adeline tried not to allow tears to hold her eyes at such a sight. The children were very young indeed, some not yet six years of age.

  A few turns down another hall and the woman stopped. “This is the dining hall.” The woman pointed to the left. Then she continued walking and everyone followed. Adeline was shocked that the smell of food did not mask the smell of puke and urine. The smell of whatever cooked smelled horrid, and she gagged slightly as she continued to walk.

  These are the women’s quarters, if there are a sheet and blanket folded on top of the mattress then it is an available bed. There is enough for all of you, find your bed, make your bed, and you will be fetched in one hour’s time to be put to work.”

  Adeline quickly walked into the room eyeing a bed at the very back of the large room that consisted of rows of rows upon skinny beds. She wanted to get away from the smell from the hallway, not that the room smelled any better, but at least it was near a window.

  She was relieved when she sat down on the very thin mattress that lay on top of a metal frame that creaked with every movement. She had claimed the bed that she wanted. It was against the back wall so there was only another bed to her right and another bed across the aisle from the foot of her bed. At least it gave some sense of privacy and space. She put her
dress down and began to make the bed with the sheet, which was very thin as well as the thin coarse blanket that would be used to cover her in the night. She could already see herself having to put on the brown dress as well just to keep warm in the middle of the night once it grew cold, but she did not plan on staying that long.

  “My name is Ginny,“ the woman to the right of Adeline’s bed said. Adeline looked to an older woman, approximately the age of forty with a creased face and mousy brown hair. She was very thin, and looked anything but healthy. But Adeline was very glad that at least this woman was being friendly as she could not stand to have to sleep next to a mean-spirited bully.

  “It is good to meet you, Ginny. My name is Adeline.”

  “Welcome to the Grace Church Workhouse. I am off to the factory, can’t be late or I will be fired.”

  “You work in the factory? I very much would like to as well. Perhaps when you return you can tell me how I can do that.”

  “Yes, but as soon as may be when they come fetch you for work, tell that person that you want to get on the waitlist for the factory work. Then I will tell you the rest when I return. Good day to you, Miss.”

  “And to you, Ginny.”

  “Do you know where I might find parchment and ink?” she asked another woman a few beds over.

  “I have parchment and ink but it will cost you.”

  “I don’t have any money or anything to barter with.”

  “Yes you do. Give me your dinner servings and we will have a trade.”

  Adeline sighed. She was famished, but she also wanted to write the letter to Katrina in case a chance to send it to Brentwood arose.

  “Alright, we shall walk to dinner together and I will give you my servings of food, but not water. I have been on the streets for days and need to drink.”

  The woman was silent, as she looked her over. Then she rummaged through her things and pulled out a piece of parchment that was dirty and stained and a charcoal pencil.