In Victorian England slums, the oldest and quietest girl of four trying to keep a roof over her family's head accepts a job with an odd staff and mysterious employer. Until she finds out all the maids before her are dead and she must face a mystifyi...
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The Greatest Journey
Jonathan Swift said; vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others, so are you able to see the invisible, the blurred lines of interactions, the wink of an eye when you are not looking? It took some time to know the answer to a question I had never bothered to ask and it was a long journey until my eyes were opened, till the blind could see. Though I can still pinpoint back to the moment my tale of horrors began, it was not like any other day, I would be off on my own for the first time and felt in my bones there was something quite different in the smoky London air...
December 7th of 1888, what a cold day it was, the wind of the winter blew right through my thin outfit and my teeth battered against one another as I tried to say goodbye.
"Now dear remember all I've taught you," my mother kissed my forehead.
"I won't forget a thing, I promise," I stayed put in place as per usual with my pristine posture.
"Good, if you follow my instructions and your aunt's this new employer won't let you go and you'll earn yourself a good living. Remember people like us need this," mother looked into my eyes with her ever strong spirit as I got ready to leave her for the second time to go away into service.
"I know mother, now give me your blessing so I can be on my way, I do not want to be late on my first day."
"Come quick then," she gave me her hand and said onto my forehead. "God bless you and keep you child in all of His ways, and do not forget the Lord's prayer before bed time."
"I promise mother," I kissed her hand before getting in the carriage with what used to be my father's Bible on my hand.
The carriage did not carry me too far though the stark difference of the English slums to the posh Mayfair area was as if one entered a whole other world. Yet all of it fit inside London the great bustling city, and it was in Mayfair I had been accepted to a job of house maid in an upper class home. The only things I knew was the amount of my wages were more than enough to help my family and the woman who hired me, her name was Mrs. Hall, she was the housekeeper.
Mrs. Hall was a friend of my mother's sister, Mrs. Green who never married and also worked as housekeeper in a smaller country house. I was formally trained by my aunt in this smaller house; it came suddenly when the family lost a huge investment and dismissed four of its employees. Yet I was only unemployed for a month until aunt told my mother of the possibility of a job with Mrs. Hall, for their house maid passed away with pneumonia and they needed a replacement soon. It was but a whole of a month until they set my date to start the job meanwhile my mother, Theresa, worked as a seamstress to pay her dues and feed my two younger siblings.
My poor father, God rest his soul, had passed away about eighteen months ago, only days after my two year old brother died of the same infection, cholera. Mother hid her broken heart well when she went straight back to work in a local shop and found my only surviving brother, Daniel, who was thirteen at the time the occupation of chimney sweeper. She left Joan my three year old sister under my care until she could secure me a position somewhere which lands me right back at the beginning of this explanation, my aunt.
