Nanny Diaries 2 - The New Litter

Homeward Bound

"Good grief...they have been working those girls like slaves!" Mr Brewster exclaimed as we both searched online, checking on what and when the girls had been working on since their poor mother had died. "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. "Whilst they were filming the first series of Little House on the Prairie, they seem to have recorded two records 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, so they would not have had many days spare. Do you think your lawyer could find out anything else? I don't think this is normal...for anyone...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. 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...they are bright girls, they should be able to do some worksheets easily enough."

"Miss Scott...you are a genius...if this is right, I am sure that we can prove that the studio has been blatantly exploiting the girls...with the obvious cooperation of their father...I'll get onto the lawyers straight away..."

"Has Mr Durante asked to see his daughters, by any chance?" I asked, changing the subject slightly.

"Well, the FBI would not have allowed it earlier in their investigations, but I actually did ask the 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."

"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, the girls would be in great danger."

"I think you need to talk to the judge again, Sir...we need to get those girls home."

Much to my delight, things moved quite quickly from there. Whilst I was trying to keep the girls busy with 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 really made their name. And they presented their evidence at a court hearing that very afternoon, where the studio was 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, the judge found that they were in breach of contract and duly released the girls from any further obligations. And the next morning, in a different court, the temporary custody order was turned into a permanent one. Mr Brewster had been expecting a harder fight, but Mr Durante did not contest the application. He essentially washed his hands of his daughters.

My job from that moment was to get the girls home. Mr Brewster did not waste any time and we were 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, to my relief. But I knew that I would have to pick up the pieces, regardless. I left them alone with their 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.