Christmas Child: an absolutely heartbreaking and emotional Victorian romance by Carol Rivers (classic english novels txt) 📕

Ettie jumped to her feet. ‘I don’t like to hear talk like that.’

Slowly, Michael stood up. ‘My poor little Ettie. You’re so easily fooled.’

Ettie felt humiliated. ‘I believe in the good in people.’

‘Even the Ripper?’ he said mockingly.

‘Who is the Ripper?’ Ettie frowned.

‘You mean you’ve never heard about the madman who cut up women to get their insides?’

Ettie shuddered. ‘No.’

‘You must be the only one in the world who hasn’t. It was only a few years back and he ain’t never been caught.’

‘Michael, please stop.’

He laughed. ‘That’s your trouble, you don’t want to know about anything.’

‘Not like that I don’t.’

’More fool you,’ he scoffed. ‘I can tell you a lot about people’s natures. Take the toffs for instance. They dress up to make you think they’re better than you. So, I’ve done what they do. I’ve stolen clothes so I can mix with people and pick their pockets. Easy as pie. I can fool anyone.’

Ettie gulped. ‘Stealing is a sin.’

‘It’s better than the jug or the workhouse.’

‘What if you get caught?’

‘I won’t.’

‘Michael, I’m scared for you.’

He smiled brashly. ‘Don’t be. But thanks anyway.’ He added passionately, ‘You are the one person in this whole rotten world that I give a damn about. Now, it’s time to make your mind up, Ettie O’Reilly. Is it the parting of the ways? Or do you want to be my girl? Come with me now and I’ll teach you the ropes.’

‘Michael, I can’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘I have to look after the children.’

‘So, it’s them before me?’ When she didn’t reply he shrugged as if he didn’t care. ‘You’d only slow me down anyway.’

Ettie looked into his eyes so full of hurt and bravado. As much as she searched, she could not see the bad in him; only the orphaned boy who had a grudge inside him that was eating away.

If she went with him now, perhaps she could save him? But leaving the children was out of the question. She wouldn’t desert them, not even for Michael.

She said in a hushed voice, ‘Sister Patrick has found me a position.’

His face fell. ‘Where?’

’With a shopkeeper and his wife near the city.’

‘One of them snooty nosed toffs,’ he sneered. ‘You’ll end up as their skivvy.’

At this, Ettie burst into tears.

Michael drew her to him. ‘I’m sorry. I’ll keep my trap shut.’

‘Oh, Michael, when will I see you again?’

He wiped a tear from her cheek with his finger. ‘I’ll get a message to you.’

‘How?’

His grey eyes grew heavy with sadness. ‘Dunno. But I’ll find you.’ His arm went around her waist as they walked back through the streets.

Whatever this feeling was that she had for him, it was very strong. And, however much he boasted how bad he was, she was certain he had a good heart. Her affection for her dear friend could never fade. She hoped he felt the same.

‘Take care of yourself,’ Michael told her at the convent gates and she watched him walk away with a careless swagger. How long must she wait before they met again?

‘Where have you been, Ettie?’ Sister Patrick was waiting by the chapel when she returned.

‘I went for a walk.’ Ettie hoped that she wouldn’t be questioned but Sister Patrick frowned in a suspicious way.

‘Where did you go?’

‘To Victoria Park.’

‘You’ve never done that alone before, child.’

Ettie felt her skin flush guiltily. Should she reveal her meeting with Michael? But somehow, she just couldn’t.

‘I won’t have Sister Ukunda with me in the city,’ she improvised knowing this explanation would satisfy Sister Patrick.

‘Ah, child, thank God you understand,’ sighed the nun in relief. ‘I feared you’d gone after that naughty boy, Michael Wilson. I know you think highly of him, but sometimes we see only what we want to see. Hear what we want to hear. You are an innocent, Ettie. Remember, put your faith in God not man, as you have been taught.’

Ettie remained silent. Should she admit to the truth? Never before had she told such a lie and the guilt was overwhelming.

‘Your new family is a good one,’ Sister Patrick insisted. ‘You will be happy.’

Ettie wanted to believe her but Michael’s warning was fresh in her mind.

‘Sure, Ettie, the bishop will visit at Christmas to hear the orphans’ confessions. Let’s pray together and ask Our Lord to help us all in the coming days.’

Ettie knelt beside Sister Patrick in the chapel. The smell of incense hung in the air from the benediction that had been performed earlier. A pale mist swirled in the shadows and the candles glowed.

But she felt no magical sense of mystery, or stirring of love for her faith. The gold-framed pictures on the walls and the statue of the Blessed Virgin no longer filled her with enchantment.

What will become of the orphans? Ettie worried silently. The bishop will come to sit inside his confessional box. He will draw aside the curtain to hear each orphan’s confession. But how could the children have sinned? As God’s little ones, they were innocents. They had done no harm. Yet the bishop would bid them say five Hail Marys as penance for the sins they had committed. Was this punishment justified?

Ettie felt as if her head was exploding. Never having questioned her faith before, now she questioned everything.

Chapter 7

The new year began cold and frosty; every day Ettie waited at the convent gates. Had Michael forgotten her? Only the deliveries arrived and they were few and far between. She often thought of that day in Victoria Park. Did she regret not going with him? But the orphans came first.

‘We want to stay together,’ they repeated every day.

‘Have faith,’ Sister Patrick told them. ‘God works in wondrous ways.’

But Johnny Dean wasn’t saved. He was the first to disappear. Early one morning he was taken from the boys’ dormitory. The next day, three of the younger girls went. When Ettie asked what had happened to them, Sister Patrick repeated her mantra. ’Don’t fret. They will be well looked after.’

On a windswept afternoon in early March,