Fear

15- London 1888

Work had been a lot better than Maria had anticipated. She had been a little late. Having to show a policeman the note with the address. He pointed her in the right direction and she arrived at the property at about the same time as the milk cart.

"You'll be the Docherty girl then" an aging woman said to her from the servants entrance.  She had an apron on, she was sturdy and her hair was mostly covered by a white cook's hat with just a few strands of graying ginger poking through.

"Yes ma'am."

"You're late." The Scot's woman said sternly. As she looked her up and down.

"I got lost, sorry miss. Are you Ms Fraser?"

"Mrs Fraser, aye that would be me. You'd better come in. Now, don't make a habit of being late. I guess you will have left without your breakfast as well."

Maria nodded. She could smell food cooking in the kitchen already and the fire was a welcome sight as she warmed herself from the damp cold wind she'd been walking in for the last forty minutes. She stood around the hearth waiting for instruction.

"Well you'll be useless to me if you're too weak to wurk." The way the woman rolled her r's made Maria smile. "Hae a seat there and I'll get you summit to eat afore y' start." Mrs Fraser pointed to the end of a large wooden table.

Maira watched as the woman cut her a thick slice of bread and smothered it with jam. Before pouring tea from the kettle over the fire into a mug and drowning it in milk.

It was quite simply the best thing Maria had ever eaten. She couldn't wait to put another bite in her mouth before she'd chewed the last.

"Slow down, ye'll make yoursel sick." Mrs Fraser sat at the table opposite her. "So can ye read?"

"Not really. Which is why I got lost." Maria said with a half chewed mouthful.

"Well we'll need to change that. Do you have any experience in a kitchen.?"

"No ma'am. I worked in the laundry and I'm very good at sewing."

"Well you'll be doing some of that here, but I also need you to fetch fresh food from the markit so you'll need to be able to follow a list and pick up the right things. Have you ever worked with money before? You'll also be responsible for cleaning everything down at the end of the day."

The housekeeper carried on at speed and Maria tried to keep in mind all the questions she was to answer. But the second, the woman mentioned that the job would be out at Spitalfields market, one thing entered her head. The ripper, what if the ripper got her like the women in the laundry said.

Maria looked worried.

"You're no scared of a hard work are you?"

"No ma'am. But..."

"Spit it out, bairn!"

"The murderer what if he's at the market. The women in the laundry all said that he'd cut my head off and..."

"Nonsense. They are just trying to scare you."

Maria tried to remember that line now. As she made her way back to the workhouse. Mrs Fraser had filled her belly with soup and fruit cake and sent her out at 8pm with a slice of Dundee cake to take back to Mr Jones, the doorman at the workhouse. That must be the name of the giant that let her out this morning.

It was dark out, and unlike the darkness of the morning, the nighttime felt dangerous like there was trouble around every corner. There were adults about but no one like in the morning when they were quietly going about tasks, busying to get places, no this was a different crowd. Rowdy. Loud. Standing around like they had nowhere to go. She felt their eyes in her while she walked.

There was a smog to the city which never really abated, so it was as if she was seeing silhouetted ghosts of people in the distance. Figures coming towards her. She tried to look at the street signs for familiar shapes in the letters, but she didn't recognise any of them in the dimness of the gaslight.

She tried to remember the way she had come this morning. But it was no use. She had started to panic. She was sure she could hear footsteps behind her. She was too scared to turn around. So she kept her head down as much as possible, every so often she'd look up and try to seek out landmarks she'd tried to take note of in her morning walk. It was useless.

She felt like she was walking in circles. No idea where she'd come from, where she was. It was starting to rain now too, and she was cold, scared and worried that she'd never get home. The murderer was probably watching her. The ripper. She imagined a huge man with solid black eyes, smiling at her while he chased her. She quickened her pace.

She walked into someone who grumbled and stared at her with wide wild eyes. She jolted back as he reached out for her. She screamed. "Get off, Ripper!" She screamed and tried to run. But the shoes were sliding on the greasy grime soaked cobbles. She could hear what sounded like jeers and people laughing. As she tried to escape. Sliding and stumbling she fell to the ground.

She heard the bells of Christchurch ring out, they were loud she must be near Spitalfields, she must be near the workhouse. But as she counted the chimes hit nine she knew she wouldn't get back in tonight. No exceptions, that's what the master said.

She looked around from where she sat. She spotted a familiar figure. Exiting from an alleyway sorting her skirts. "Miss Liz! Miss Liz!"

Elizabeth Stride reddened as she heard the shouts, recognizing Maria's voice she didn't want the child to know she'd just been entertaining a gentleman but also she knew the tone in that child's scream was one of fear. The girl was innocent to the world and there are a lot of terrible things that happen in Whitechapel at night. She shook her head and made her way over to the child. That's what she was: a lost frightened little girl.

"Back off!" She shouted at the onlookers, in her hybrid scandi-cockney accent.

"Whore!" One of the men spat at her as she approached.

"What'cya doing out 'ere at this time?"

Maria just looked at her like a doe, numbed with fear. Tears welling over.

"Come on we'll get y' home." Liz reached down and supported Maria up. She held her hand while they walked along the street. The minor felt safe for the first time since she left the warmth of Mrs Fraser's kitchen.

"They'll not let me in. It's after time."

"Don't you worry 'bout that sweetheart. Henry Jones is a big soft lump of a man. He'll let y' in."

"I got lost and then the ripper tried to catch me."

"Aww sweetheart, the ripper's made up for the papers. It's just a normal bad man, doing bad things the likes of you shouldn't be 'earing about."

"But the women in the laundry said that he'd catch me and cut my head off. I've seen him in my sleep. He's got black eyes and has a big saw."

"Oo said that t' ye? They'll have me to deal with. Pay no attention to them."

They arrived back at the large oak door at the Union house less than ten minutes later. Liz knocked, "it's Liz 'enry. I've got Maria, she got lost."

It took a moment but they heard the creaking and bolt of the door unlocking. He looked down at them both. "You'd better come in then."

"Mister, Mrs Fraser gave me this for you. I'm sorry it got a little broken when I fell."

"Ahh, Dundee cake. Tell her thank you."

"Do you think you could draw a route to her work from 'ere?"

The giant nodded. "I'll have it ready for you in the morning. No get to bed wi' you."

Maria smiled and gave Liz a hug, "Liz. I love you. Thank you."

Neither Maria nor Liz knew that would be the last time they'd see each other, as the girl slipped off to the woman's dorm her custodian left and headed back to her street trade, and unfortunately for her… the Ripper was real.