Among the Darkness Stirs

“Well, I’ll not beat about the bush.” Enoch leaned forward. “I am acquainted with a family. The Wakefields. Ezra Wakefield was the vicar of the small village near where I live. He was a good man and I enjoyed his company. Unfortunately, he died very recently.”

Sympathy shone in Henry’s eyes. “I’m sorry a good man is dead.”

Enoch was sorry, too. “He leaves behind a wife and two daughters.”

Henry studied him, perhaps catching on to what Enoch wanted to discuss. “I see.”

“I thought that, with your background and knowledge, I might recommend the eldest daughter as a member of the staff at Bowthorpe,” Enoch explained.

Henry frowned. “Staff at Bowthorpe? A vicar’s daughter? Surely, she isn’t qualified,” Henry wondered aloud.

Enoch rushed to explain. “Well, Audrey has no experience, but she was educated at Queen’s College in London as a governess.”

“Really?” Henry remarked, sounding surprised. “How unusual. Her father allowed that?”

Enoch took a sip of his drink. “He wanted it very much, as did she. They were extremely close.”

Henry pondered that for a moment, swirling the liquid in his glass. “What is this daughter, Audrey, like? The workhouse is not the place for sheltered young women. She might find it disagreeable.”

“She’s eager to be of use to her family and help support them. She will work hard. She’s well-read. I would not recommend her if I thought her not up for the task.” Enoch met his eye, trying to impart his sincerity.

Henry listened intently. “It’s actually extraordinary that you should bring this to my attention at this time. As it happens, we have advertised in the newspaper for a schoolmistress at Bowthorpe. We have received a few responses but no one has been selected.”

A surge of relief surged through Enoch. Maybe there was hope for Audrey after all. “How fortuitous. However, there is one thing that I want to bring to your attention. Ms. Wakefield would need to bring her sister and mother with her to the workhouse. I know certain staff live on-site at the workhouse and some don’t. If it works out and you approve of her, she would need to bring them along. Unfortunately, they have no one else.”

Henry pondered the words. “I’m intrigued. I would like to help this young woman and her family. I’m going to be staying in London for several weeks for business. Do you think you might arrange for Ms. Wakefield to come and see me? It would save her the journey of traveling to Norwich.”

Enoch jumped at the chance. “I’ll write to her at once. I’m sure she will be most pleased to meet with you.”

Henry

smiled. “We can make arrangements of where to meet.”

“This really is most kind of you, Henry. Most kind.” Enoch couldn’t wait to tell Audrey.

“Let’s say in a week and a half we will set the time and date to meet.”

Enoch shook the man’s hand. “This has been a very pleasant conversation. My spirits are lifted.”

Henry hesitated. “You understand I can’t promise anything, Enoch, but I will meet with her. I think that at least I can do. Her lack of experience does worry me. The children in the workhouse have been shuffled about and lack the basic necessities so she might not be a good fit.”

“She’s a special young lady, Henry. You’ll see. She’s intelligent and has a strong sense of herself. Although I daresay her father spoiled her a bit,” Enoch explained.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Henry remarked, standing. “A little love and coddling are good for the soul. I must dash, but I look forward to meeting Ms. Wakefield.”

They shook hands once more and parted ways.

Chapter Four

Henry Ryland took the hansom cab from Enoch’s club to his own, the Savage Club. As a solicitor by trade, just as his father, both had belonged to the club, and he enjoyed its bohemian atmosphere of journalists and writers. The Savage Club members were classified into one of six categories that best described their main interests. The six categories were art, music, drama, literature, science, and law. The Savage Club had several notable members, including Prince Albert and leading man and stage actor Henry Irving.

The cab rumbled along the road, and Henry thought about the conversation he had just had with Enoch Thomson. He had received the doctor’s letter and been intrigued. It had been deliberately vague, asking if he was planning to be in London in the near future. He had written back that, as a matter of fact, he was to journey there shortly, and Enoch asked to meet him.

He thought of the vicar’s daughter teaching children in the workhouse and imagined Ms. Wakefield as a small figure with large eyes behind her wire spectacles. No doubt she read much and had the need of spectacles, he reasoned. Her hair would be pulled back and pinned into a low bun and her face small and unassuming.

He took his duties as a board guardian very seriously, and filling the role of schoolmistress was extremely important. The workhouse children needed someone who was not only dependable but educated so that for whatever amount of time they spent in the workhouse, it would be useful to them.

Ms. Wakefield might not have the experience that was usually required, but she had an excellent education from Queen’s College and a character reference from Dr. Enoch Thomson.