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Chapter Three
Carmen stared at the flyer in her hand. “The handwriting looks rather crooked,” Lily said.
“Is it illegible?” Carmen asked.
“Well, no—” Lily said, sounding unsure.
“Then it shall suffice.” Carmen shrugged. About twenty other women bustled around them. For an outsider looking in, they would be seen as promiscuous women seducing men and sometimes women to bed. Here, they were sisters working and living together.
Carmen walked up to Elaine, who was sewing the bottom of a skirt. “Is that almost ready?”
“Almost,” Elaine said, looking up at her with a smile. At fifty, she was the oldest amongst all of them and acted as their matron and cook. Elaine was also one of the first women Carmen had found when she had escaped almost seven years ago.
The women raised money by doing odd household jobs. Carmen and a few others worked several days a week at the dock just a few streets away. They helped men haul shipments that came in. Others chose to stay behind to take care of the music hall or embroider to raise money.
Carmen examined the skirt. “Anything you make looks good to me.”
“You should have a try at it,” Elaine suggested.
“You know I’m very bad at this,” Carmen said, shaking her head with a quiet laugh. “I can hardly sew in a straight line.”
“Maybe not,” Elaine said. “But you have the voice of a nightingale, better than anyone I’ve ever heard.”
Carmen ducked her head at the compliment. She loved the feeling of sitting down at the pianoforte to sing. She looked outside. The sun was shining, and the day was clearer than it had been in the last few weeks. Even nature was on their side today.
Carmen stood on a stool and clapped her hands. Immediately, all the women stopped and looked up. “Attention girls, we’re going to go out to the streets today, and we need people to listen to us.”
“I have an idea,” Lily said. “Why don’t we go down to Vauxhall and try to look for future patrons?”
Carmen was unsure. It seemed way too early for that, but she nodded anyway. The first rule amongst them was that everyone had equal rights to voice their opinions, even though they seemed to have unanimously chosen her as their leader.
She didn’t want them to be dependent on rich men for help. “Anybody else have any other suggestions?”
Just then there was an insistent knock at the door. Two women, Mary and Tia, came running into the small hall where the women have gathered around.
“What’s wrong?” Carmen asked.
“T-there’s a constable at the door,” Tia said when she caught her breath.
Carmen’s eyes went wide in alarm. “A constable?” So far, they had been left alone, except for an occasional errant stone through the window. She smoothed her skirts and beckoned Lily to follow her. Together they would deal with it.
“What do you think it can be about?” Lily asked.
“We’re about to find out,” Carmen said as she noticed the constable standing at the threshold, his nose screwed in disgust. When he noticed them, a frown appeared on his face.
“I asked to meet with the man of the house,” the constable said.
“We’re renting this establishment,” Carmen said. The building which used to be a theatre was abandoned after a particularly bad fire. Even though the building was restored, nobody wanted to buy it because of bad luck. So, when Carmen had sought out the owner, he agreed to rent it out for a minimal number of coins.
Just then, the rest of the women followed them out of the room, their faces a mask of concern. The constable narrowed his eyes when he saw them all.
“You’re Carmen, aren’t you?” the constable sneered. “I’ve heard all about you. Luring women to join your …. ranks or whatever it is.”
Carmen raised a brow. She knew she had built a reputation around these parts as she helped women, especially the ones that no one else seemed to care for.
“I’m she,” Carmen confirmed, and the constable’s frown seemed to deepen.
“Do you all live together?” His tone was accusatory. His eyes twitched as he spoke, and Carmen could practically smell his hatred towards them.
