Among the Darkness Stirs

Enoch heard their conversation and jumped in. “If you’d like, I can leave you two to discuss business and return in a half hour.”

Henry nodded, and the doctor wordlessly departed, leaving the couple alone on the bench.

Audrey worried her hands in her lap. “My family has fallen on difficult times. My father died recently. He was a vicar at the local church in our village. After he died, we realized that we had very little to live on.”

Henry kept silent and let her continue.

“My father was a very giving man. I’m sure he ran into someone who needed help and he was eager to help them. He probably didn’t realize how little time he had left,” she said softly.

Henry didn’t speak immediately. “My father also died recently. We have that in common.”

“A sad thing to have in common.”

Henry looked up along the green path and saw a man stroll by with his cane in one hand and a book in the other. “Why did you attend Queen’s College? It seems an unusual choice.”

“That was my father as well.” She peeked up at him through her lashes. “He wanted me to have a proper education. Growing up, I learned English, French, and a bit of Latin from him. But he wanted more for me. I must confess I wanted to attend college as well.”

Henry absorbed that. She did seem quite intelligent. “You have a certificate?”

“I do. But as I’m sure Dr. Thomson told you, I have no experience.”

“Did you ever plan to use your education?” he wondered.

She pondered the question. “I think at one time I thought I might get work as a governess. But it never materialized. Once my father died and we learned of our legacy, or lack of, I thought it might be time to look again.”

“But?” he pressed.

“But I have my mother and sister to look after. My sister is very young, she’s eight years old, and my mother has no training.”

“Forgive me if I pry, your mother and father’s people? Are they unable to help you?”

“My father has no one. And my mother’s family is—” She faltered. “They aren’t able to help us.”

Henry sensed there might be more to the story, but he did not want to press her. “I see.”

“So now you know the reason I am before you,” she said, smoothing her skirt down. “A young woman with an education and no experience.”

He considered how to go about his next words. “Ms. Wakefield, do you know anything about the workhouses? I mean, everyone knows what they do, but the ins and outs of it?”

“No, I don’t,” she confessed.

He looked out over the green grass. “The workhouse is not a bad place. It can be a place of reform, rehabilitation, but it can also be a place which brings out the dark side of a person. Families must come into the workhouse together. If the father owes a debt, the family remains together. Women and children reside in one side of the workhouse, men and boys over a certain age on the other. The workhouse runs as if an organization. There is a staff that oversees the operations, and a schoolmistress is one of the most important positions.”

“I see.”

“Children who enter the workhouse, be they girls or boys, must attend school. Their lessons include reading, arithmetic, grammar, and geography. The girls also receive the same schooling as well as needlework, knitting, and domestic employment.”

Audrey gave him a shy yet mischievous look. “My needlework is abysmal. My mother has told me so since I was about four years old.”

His lips twitched in a grin. “We can have one of the inmates teach needlework, knitting, and domestic work. Most of the young women who enter the workhouse will go into service when they become of age.” He paused. “The schoolroom is a difficult job because many of the students have not had a proper education or scant education or sometimes none. They must catch up. It’s a chance for you to do some real work, but it can be very frustrating.”

Her eyes glistened with determination. ?

?I understand.”

Henry turned to her. “Look, Ms. Wakefield. I’m not unsympathetic to your plight. Enoch told me of your father’s passing, and as I said, I lost mine as well. But these children in the workhouse can be a rough lot. Oftentimes their past education is sketchy at best, and they can be disagreeable and downright abusive to the teacher.”

Audrey paled at his words. “I hadn’t realized…”