"Good grief...they have been working those girls like slaves!" Mr Brewster exclaimed as we both searched online, checking on exactly when and what the girls had been working on since their poor mother had died, which was largely a matter of following their social media activity as their whole existence seemed to be documented on those accounts. "I knew that they were Durante's meal ticket, but this schedule would be horrific for adults...wouldn't it?"
"I certainly don't see when they were having any time off," I agreed, staring at a tour schedule I had found on the Bethlehem Sisters' website and cross-referencing it with Instagram posts and Tweets. "Whilst they were filming the first three series of Little House on the Prairie, they seem to have made two albums and appeared in some twenty concerts...as well as television appearances and other events. And their characters are in just about every scene on that show as Philippa told me, so they would not have had many days spare. Do you think your lawyers could find out anything else? I really don't think this is normal...for anyone...for adults...and as children, I thought that there were rules on how many hours they could work...rest periods and study time should be built into their schedules? There certainly are rules in our country and all child actors have to study? The girls say that they have had hardly any lessons, and although they worked hard enough on the worksheets I've given them so far, I do not think they did that well...which doesn't make any sense, Sir...they are bright girls, they should be able to do some age-appropriate worksheets easily enough...shouldn't they? I am no teacher...but they didn't look that hard to me?"
"Miss Scott...you are a genius...if this is right, I am sure that we can prove that the studio has been blatantly exploiting those girls...with the obvious cooperation of their father...and that awful young woman was the torturer in chief...I'll get onto the lawyers straight away...it needs some proper investigation!"
"Has Mr Durante asked to see his daughters, by any chance?" I asked, changing the subject slightly. He shook his head rather sadly.
"Well, the FBI would not have allowed it earlier in their investigations, but I actually did ask that question yesterday," Mr Brewster sighed, frowning at me. "I was told that he would not even consider seeing them until they were back at work...that really does seem to be all that he is worried about...the money?"
"Is he going to go to prison, Mr Brewster?"
"I am not sure...my lawyer thinks he is a small fish in something much bigger, and if he can be persuaded to give evidence against the real sharks, he might get a deal...but if he is involved with the sort of people that I think he is, I do fear the girls would be in great danger if he did that...if they stay here?"
"I think you need to talk to the judge again, Sir...we need to get those girl's home?"
Much to my delight, things moved quite quickly from there. Whilst I was trying to keep the girls busy with some lessons, and their minds off of their troubles, Mr Brewster's lawyers went to work, delving further into the amount of work the Bethlehem Sisters had got through over the previous eighteen months, since they had really made their names. And they presented their initial evidence at a court hearing that very afternoon, where the studio was still trying to force Mr Brewster to honour the contact the girls had with them. But faced with proof that the studio had not been following the law with regards to child actors, and the amount of work they were doing without any real education, the judge found that they were in breach of contract and duly released the girls from any further obligations, just like that. The studio instantly appealed the surprise verdict, but that did not matter, because the ruling changed everything for us. And the next morning, in a different court, the temporary custody order was briskly turned into a new permanent one. Mr Brewster had been expecting a much harder fight, but for some reason, Mr Durante did not even contest the application for permanent custody. He essentially washed his hands of his three daughters, as soon as he was told that they were no longer under contract to Bisney.
My job from that moment was to get all the girls home. Mr Brewster did not waste any time and we were all booked on a late afternoon flight, which meant some rapid packing whilst Bella kept the children busy. I was not sure how they would react to the news, especially about their father not fighting for them, but Mr Brewster rushed back from the court to talk to them himself as a grandfather should, much to my relief. But I knew that I would have to pick up the pieces afterwards, regardless. I left them alone with their tired old grandfather, whilst I prepared Bella and Caris for departure, which I suspected was going to mean running the gauntlet of the press hordes at the gates and possibly then at the airport as well, as the court cases had both been public events. But I did not care. I was going home.
"Give me a good blow, Henrietta." I said, as I held a tissue to her nose. She was in tears, of shock, I think, but I needed to get her dressed, as well as comfort her. Bella was working on an equally distressed Georgina, whilst Mr Brewster and Caris were consoling Philippa. But they were all behaving for me. We had not brought many clothes with us, but Mrs Brewster had sent over a going home outfit, suitable for both the aircraft and the arrival back in autumnal London we hoped, and I soon had her in a simple pale pink and white dress, and a delightful pale pink coat. Perhaps a bit warm for the weather outside, but totally fine for an air-conditioned car and the terminal. Half an hour later, they were all still sobbing quietly, sucking piteously on their pacifiers, but we had them all dressed and in the back of a massive car with tinted windows to try and hide ourselves from any photographers. That made our departure a lot easier than I had feared, because the press people could not even see us when the car swept out of the iron gates and sped rapidly away. Unfortunately, we all had to get out of it once we reached the airport. I sat opposite the girls, with Bella and Caris either side of me, trying to cheer them up.
"Things will feel a lot better once we get you home, Henrietta?" I suggested, leaning forwards to dab at her eyes.
"He never loved us, did he?" She murmured around her pacifier, which was a sin, but I was not going to worry about that, just that once. I took it out of her mouth, and patted her cheek with my hand.
"I think everyone agrees that you will be better off with your grandparents at the moment. If your father sorts out his problems, he can visit you?" I lied, because it was obvious why Bradley Durante had let his girls go. Firstly, they had broken with the studio, which meant that they would not be earning him any big money anymore, and secondly because if he turned state evidence and went into a witness protection scheme, they would be a chain around his neck. I could not see any evidence of him loving his daughters, to be honest, but I could not say that to the girls, and I could not tell them that they were much safer away from him, either. "And the important thing is that you are all safe and loved, and no one from that awful studio is ever going to control you again, little one?"
"But we won't have any money?"
"Henrietta...you don't need any money, dear...your grandfather is a wealthy man...he has just bought us all first-class tickets, after all...all you need to do is be a good girl for him and work hard at your new school...that is your job now?" I told her, although I suspected that the church had bought the tickets, as the Meadvale community rallied round one of their own. But Mr Brewster was a wealthy man, that was no lie. Maybe not in the same league at the Montague family, but certainly not struggling on a pension.
"Will we be allowed to sing...or act?"
"Well...Deepdene has a choir...and I am sure your grandparents will let you appear in the school productions...maybe more...but they will not let anyone treat you like your studio was treating you, little one...it was too much, wasn't it?" I suggested, and she nodded, tears bursting down her cheeks again, so I popped her comforter back in and patted her red cheeks again, as tenderly as possible. I was sure that there were more horrors to come from their treatment by the studio and the odious Miss Wellman, but that would have to wait until the girls were ready to talk about it. And then I had to get them from the drop-off point to the check-in desk, which was a proper nightmare. I took the two older girls, by the hand, and Bella took Philippa and Caris, and we marched the children through a mass of people, all shouting at us and thrusting cameras into our faces. It was so bad for me, but the girls were horrified, including Caris and Bella, and it was such a relief when the airline hurried us through into a private area, away from prying eyes.
And then it got easier. I had wondered if the girls would resist leaving what was after all their home, but they were cowed and overwhelmed, and plainly scared by all the fuss. They were not ordinary children, obviously. I did not know exactly how they had lived since their mother had passed away, but I could guess, and it was not normal for little girls to be working all the time and have people cheering them, and telling them that they were special, or important, but not letting them be kids. So, as they were not ordinary, their reactions to what was happening to them was not so ordinary, either. As I settled them in first-class, on the plane, I realised that they had got so accustomed to being told what to do, what to wear and even what to say, that they just did it, almost like robots. If they demurred, someone like Candy Wellman would shout at them, or their father perhaps, and that had started when they were all really young. Henrietta had been just nine when they started performing. They might have lived in a huge house, and had all the trappings of fame around them, but their lives had been like living on a treadmill all the time, and all the normal things like going to school, having friends and a family, had been cruelly pushed aside. We were in a pod of four first-class seats, although we had six, so that I could keep all of the girls with me for the flight, and I put Caris and Philippa next to me, with Georgina and Henrietta opposite with Bella beside them. And I found myself particularly watching Caris and Philippa, which was quite enlightening. Caris, always a chatterbox if I let her, was talking to Philippa all the time, showing her things in her book, or playing silly games with her. And poor Philippa did not know how to react to her. Georgina and Henrietta just sat quietly, mostly reading the books I had brought for all of them, and I could see that they were brooding and still very upset, but Philippa was not given time to brood, and Caris soon had her smiling and even laughing a little. And my dark thoughts returned to my conversation with Sheila Blackstone at Charlesfield, where we had talked about keeping her girls busy all the time, so that they did not have time to think or ever worry about other things. So, I swapped Georgina for Philippa, and got Bella to take Henrietta, whilst I took the younger sister myself for a while.
"Did you enjoy playing with Caris, little one?" I whispered, once I had everyone settled, as the plane soared through the clouds.
"Yes, Nanny...she is so nice."
"You'll have lots of friends when we get you to Meadvale, you know."
"Caris says we have loads of cousins?"
"Yes, you do...more than I can count, if I am honest..."
"Caris loves you, Nanny?"
"She does...and I love her." I replied, gently, cuddling her to me.
"Will you be our nanny too, Nanny?"
"For the time being...yes...you are going to stay with me at the Montague house...with Caris and three more cousins...but your grandparents will be close by...they are just a bit too old to look after a young family full time...and Mr and Mrs Montague are cousins too. Mrs Montague was best friends with your mother when they were your age...they were at school together and they loved each other?"
"And we have to go to school, don't we?"
"Yes, dear...everyone has to go to school...you should have studied more at your studio."
"Dad said we had to earn money...and that was more important, Nanny." She said, speaking close to my ear, her head resting on my shoulder. It was getting late, and she was getting tired after an extremely stressful day.
"Well, your father was wrong...your education is important, and so is your home life, with your family. Are you worried about going to school?"
"Caris says it is brilliant...but she isn't a star...people will bug us...they always do?"
"Well, not in Meadvale...some people will have heard of you, I am sure, but Meadvale girls do not do much bugging as you put it...you can be you, not Faith Bethlehem?" I suggested as I slipped her bottle into her mouth. She did not finish it, falling asleep in my arms, and soon Bella got Henrietta off, whilst Caris and Georgina fell asleep on each other.
"You have quite a litter, Nanny?" Bella suggested with a little smile, her arms wrapped tight around Henrietta, holding her close.
"Yes, I do...and thank you for all your help, Bella...I will be telling your family how well you have done...and I hope they will listen to me this time?"
"Thank you, Nanny."
"They should never have left you in the nursery for so long...in my opinion," I sighed, getting myself comfortable, shifting Philippa over a little, and resting her head against my shoulder so that we could both get some rest. She was spark out, her pacifier moving gently in her mouth as she breathed in and out.
"Grandma wanted to be sure I had learned my place, Nanny."
"And have you, Bella?"
"I always knew it, Nanny...but Nicola and her little friends changed the landscape, and my ambitions were no longer...appropriate?" She sighed, and I nodded, because from what I had seen, it was true. Bella was not a modernist, or a liberal, but she had wanted to work in a wholly suitable environment, as well as marry and have her own family. But the reaction to the great escape made that impossible. She had to be a proper daughter of Eve. "My grandmother wants the family to lead the renaissance...and being so tough on me set a good example to others...I suppose?"
Everyone slept for a while. Even me. But I woke up when Henrietta touched my arm, having chosen to wake me rather than Bella. She had her pacifier in her mouth, and she looked so cute in her pink dress with her braided hair, that I had to smile. Then I reached out and removed the comforter. "What can I do for you, pickle?"
"Sorry, Nanny...but I need a change?" She murmured, looking close to tears. It was the first time that she had filled her diaper without being told to do so.
"No need to apologise about that, dear...that is what your nappies are for?" I grinned, getting myself untangled from her comatose sister. I stood up and took her hand, to lead her to one of the two seats we were not really using. Mr Brewster had not travelled with us, because he had some more business to tie up, and I was using the spares as a changing area, because they were far away from any other passengers. "No need to cry about a dirty nappy, Henrietta?"
"That's easy for you to say, Nanny." She said as I drew the curtain around us. I smiled at her indulgently, and stroked her hair.
"More or less every child you will meet in Meadvale...boy or girl...will be wearing diapers and you won't even think about them in a few weeks, I promise?" I said as I laid her down and pulled back her dress. "I think you will be very happy in Meadvale, with people who love you and want you to feel safe and protected...just like Caris?"
"Yes, Nanny." She said, without sounding convinced, tears still running down her cheeks as I got to work. She was just wet, and it only took me a moment to clean her up and get her into a clean diaper. And then she really surprised me. "Nanny...is it all right if I have a cuddle with you?"
I said yes, of course. I popped her pacifier back in her mouth and sat down on the spare seat so that she could climb onto my lap. She started to sob again, clinging onto me, and I kissed her head and talked to her. I told her all about her new life, and how wonderful it would be for her and her sisters. I told her about all of my other girls, and about Helen and Colin, and about the village. She listened, and slowly calmed down, until her body betrayed her. I felt her mess herself, the sort of involuntary explosion only a diaper-dependent child can manage. So, I got her laid down again and changed her, before cuddling her again, and talking some more, until she finally fell asleep.
I just sat there, holding her in my arms, and thought about getting home. I had missed all my other girls, and Helen too, but most of all, I had missed being in my safe place. Meadvale was my refuge, and the growing Montague family were my life. I had not enjoyed being away from either, and I could not wait to get back to the village and disappear again. Henrietta started to snore, and I kissed her hair, hoping that she would be as happy as I was in Meadvale. I never wanted to leave my home again.