The Peeler

By: Will B
(© 2009-2010 by the author)
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Frederick had learned that he had the means to open the school of his dreams! It would be an asylum, a training school for boys who might fall into a life of poverty and crime. He hired John Williams and John’s sister, Jane Barton as ‘supervisor of working men’ and as cook. Later John would be the ‘Steward of the School,’ in charge of sanitation and firewood.

Chapter 3

Frederick’s building was located in the Parish of St. Botolph Billingsgate, about three squares from the Thames. The old London Bridge had spanned the river at this point, but the new London Bridge, which had opened in 1831, spanned the Thames from the adjacent parish of St. Magnus the Martyr.

It was late in July of 1837. The workmen had been stripping paint, plastering, cleaning, and repainting. Frederick’s and John’s offices on the ground floor were ready as were Jane’s bedroom and office next to the kitchen.

Frederick’s bedroom on the second floor was ready and furnished. The workmen had discovered an interior connecting door that led to a second room that had its own door into the corridor.

“Shall we close the door up or leave it as it is?” Thady O’Tracey, the Irish foreman of the workers, had asked.

“Leave it as it is, Thady.  I may want to use it as a private office,” Frederick

replied.

It was ten o’clock in the morning when Frederick and John, who had been consulting on various matters, heard a crash and a cry. Someone must have fallen. Rushing to the corridor where some of the men had been working they saw a figure lying on the ground. It was Thady.

“Sweet Mary and Joseph,” Thady cried. “It hurts. My arm. I think it’s broken,” he cried.

“There’s a doctor in the next street,” said Finnegan, another of the workers.

“Go and get him, man. Hurry!” shouted Frederick. Turning to the injured man, he said, “Just lie still. Don’t try to move.”

In seven minutes, Finnegan returned with a man, who appeared to be about thirty years old, with reddish hair, a Scot, by his accent.

“I’m Adrian Buchanan. What’s the problem?” he asked

Frederick explained “This man has fallen and we think his arm might be broken.”

“Oh, och! aye! Let me see, sir…. Yes, it is broken. I’ll have to set it. This might be painful. Would there be any whiskey about the place?”

“I have some, sur-r-r-r,” Finnegan said, and he pulled out a flask.

“Guid, now, if you would let him have a healthy swallow, and then sit on his legs…and you, sir,” he said to Frederick, ‘if you will be guid enough to sit or lie across his chest, so that he canna thrash about, I will set that arm,”

Soon Thady was feeling no pain, and Finnegan and Frederick took their positions, and Dr. Buchanan felt the broken bones and reset them. Thady did let out one almighty cry but then was quiet.

Jane brought some linen and a sling was fashioned. “It will be no work for you for several weeks, Mr. O’Tracey.”

Frederick thought how good it was of the doctor to talk to the patient so respectfully. Irish laborers were not always talked to in such a manner!

“Oh, worra! worra!! What will happen to my wife and six young ‘uns if there’s no money coming in?” Thady cried.

“Don’t you worry about that, Thady. Your pay will continue, and in a few days, when you are able you can supervise the others while sitting in a chair. Perhaps we can take a chair and put it on wheels,” Frederick said with a smile.

Dr. Buchanan was pleasantly surprised to see an employer so considerate of a workman.

“Now, Doctor, perhaps you will step into my office, and we’ll discuss your fee, and I’ll find something to quench your thirst,” said Frederick.

The two men talked for quite a while. The young doctor was impressed with Frederick’s ideas for a school.  He refused to take a fee for helping set Thady’s broken arm, but he did agree to examine any boys Frederick might bring to his school, for, ‘Oh, say, a shilling a visit.” This was the most money Frederick could convince him to take.

Finally Dr. Buchanan stood up to take his leave. “I’d better get back to my office. My wife will be wondering where I am,” he said.

“You’re married, then?” Frederick asked.

“Yes, for two years, and I’m happy to tell you there’s a bairn on the way,” Adrian Buchanan said, with no small amount of pride in his voice.

“Congratulations, Doctor.” Frederick shook his hand, and if internally he was a bit sad, he never let it show.”I hope Buchanan and his missus will be happy, but I can’t help wishing….,’ he thought to himself.

Two days later, Thady was sitting in his wheeled chair, overseeing the workmen. Jane was preparing the midday meal in the kitchen. Beef stew, hot rolls, and butter.

Peach cobbler for ‘afters’ was on the day’s menu. John Williams was emptying the ever-present pots in the cess pit.

Frederick was in his office when he heard a knock on the front door. Opening the door, Frederick saw a young man, dirty and disheveled standing there.

“Please, sir. Do you have any work I could do to earn some food. I haven’t eaten for….” To Frederick’s shock the young man collapsed on his doorstep.

“Finnegan, Williams, somebody come here, I need some help,” Frederick called.

Finnegan came running, and he and Frederick, between the two of them got the young man up and helped him to Frederick’s office where he sat in a chair, slowly coming to.

By this time everyone had gathered around and Frederick asked Jane to bring a bowl of her beef stew and whatever else was ready for lunch. As the young man regained consciousness, Frederick slowly spooned some of the delicious stew into his mouth.

When the man was fully awake, he said, “Thank you. That’s delicious. I think I can handle the rest of the bowl myself.”

Jane had brought a tray with a bowl of beef stew for Frederick, hot rolls and butter, and some of the apple cobbler. She went back to the kitchen and brought out two mugs of ale. “Will there be anything else, Mr. Frederick,” she asked.

“No, thank you, Jane, that was delicious,” her employer said. Now that the crisis was past, Frederick allowed himself to look at the young man more closely. He saw someone a little younger than himself, with curly bond hair and blue eyes, and none too clean at this point in time. Nevertheless, there was something about the stranger that appealed to Frederick.

When they had finished eating, Frederick took the tray, bowls, table ware, and mugs of ale, and put them on his desk.

“I’m Frederick Fitzwilliam, and this is my building. And you are…?”

“My name is Edward Kent, and I sincerely thank you for giving me that food. I think it may have saved my life.”

“How did you come to be in this predicament,” Frederick asked. “You are young, and you look like you should be able to find employment.”

Edward had a somewhat shamefaced look as he replied, “I’m a tutor, or rather I was, until my employer dismissed me and told me he would see that no other family hired me.”

Frederick would have liked to ask why Edward had been dismissed, but he just sat there looking at his guest, waiting.

“I guess I should tell you and then you can kick me out. I was caught in an act of ‘inappropriate behavior’ with another staff member,” Edward said.

“What? Did you try to bed the dairy maid?” Frederick wanted to know.

“No….it was… (Edward felt he could confide in this man, and he felt he had to be honest with him, come what may!)…it was the stable boy…I guess you’ll want me to leave now.”

“Edward, I’m not going to sit in judgment on you. You’ve been honest with me, and now I will be honest with you, and tell you my plans for this property. I want to make it into a home, an asylum, a school for young boys who are at risk. I want them to learn to read and write and then I want to help them find good positions…and I need to hire a teacher!”

“Oh, sir! That’s a wonderful idea. I wish…,” Edward began.

“What do wish, Edward?”

“I…wish…I could be the teacher, but you probably wouldn’t want to ….”

“Look at me, Edward, and tell me the truth. Does your taste run to young boys?” Frederick asked.

“No, sir, I swear to God…I…”

“That’s enough, my friend. Consider yourself hired! We can’t pay much, but room and board is provided. There is just one thing, though.”

“What’s that, sir?” the newly hired teacher asked.

“We’re going to pay a visit to the public bath house, and allow you to freshen yourself up…No! No!...Don’t say anything. This will be at my expense. Now, we’re about the same size, and I’m going to take some clothes with us, so that you can throw those rags away.”

“Frederick..I mean, sir…I don’t know what to say, except thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Oh, yes, there is one more thing. No more ‘sir.’ I’m Frederick, or maybe Fitz.”

An hour later Edward had been ‘scrubbed and tubbed,’ and he was now sitting in the barber’s chair, having a much needed haircut.

“We’re lucky to have a barber here at the bath house,” Frederick commented.

“Thank you, sir,” replied the barber, who was a ruddy faced man of some fifty-two years. “I like it here, very much. I’m glad I was able to move here.”

“Where were you before this?” asked Edward.

“I had a nice little shop out in the western part of London, in Fleet Street, but…., well…, a man named Todd moved in to a shop up the street, and we were ‘friendly rivals,’ as you might say, but sometimes when he was angry, he’d look at me as if he’d like to cut my throat, so…I finally decided to move, and … well, here I am.”

Edward had cleaned up quite nicely, and wearing some of Frederick’s clothes he was quite a handsome young man. ‘I wonder if…, ‘ Frederick thought to himself.

The two men walked back to the building and Frederick introduced Edward to Williams and Jane as the new teacher.

“Welcome, sir, I’m sure,” said Jane as she dropped a slight curtsey.

“Mr. Frederick is a good man to work for, and with,” said Williams, shaking the newcomer’s hand.

Frederick took Edward up to the first floor and showed him the rooms that had been set aside as bedrooms for the students and then he took him to his own room and showed him the adjacent room that had a doorway into his room.

“I wonder if this room would be suitable for you, Edward,” Frederick asked. “It’s a little bigger than the rooms set aside for the students when they come, but if you’d rather….”

“No, no, this will be fine. There’s a bed, a table, a chair, some shelves, and a fireplace. I’ll be happy to take this room. Thank you,” Edward replied. ‘Frederick has been so good to me, and he is a kind man. I wish…, but I’d better not think of that. I’m just thankful I have a job and a home,’ he thought to himself.

Later that evening, Frederick, Edward, John Williams, and Jane Burton were sitting down to a light supper, when there was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it,” said Williams. He got up, went to the door and came back with a young police constable.

“Begging your pardon, gentlemen and lady, but I have a message from Superintendent Lane. He wants to know if Mr. Fitzwilliam could come to the station He says it’s rather important,” the constable said.

“Of course I’ll come, right now,” said Frederick.

To be continued... 

As always my thanks to my reader, mentor, and friend, “Critter.”

Posted: 11/05/10