Without Sin (7 page)

‘Nice to him? What do you mean?’

‘I dunno really. I just know that he’s not so strict on the girls. And you’re new here, so if you smile prettily at him and say you’re sorry, mebbe you’ll get away
with it.’

The door flew open and Isaac stood there. He looked nothing like the kindly, avuncular figure he had seemed before. Now he resembled a raging bull.

‘You, boy, in here.’

As Jake stepped forward, Meg did so too, but the master said sharply, ‘No, you stay there, girl. I’ll see you in a moment.’

The second that Jake stepped into the room the door was slammed behind him, but because the master was shouting Meg could hear every word.

‘How many beatings do I have to give you, boy, before you learn the rules? Eh? Eh? Answer me that. It’s not as if you’ve any excuse. You’ve been here all your life. You
were born here, yet you still flout the rules at every end and turn. And don’t expect Miss Pendleton to come running to your aid. Not this time when I tell her what you’ve done. Such
disgusting behaviour with a young and innocent wench. In broad daylight and in the middle of the yard too. Have you no shame, boy?’

Meg heard Jake’s muttered response, but she could not make out the words. His voice was too low.

‘Upset, you say? Of course the lass was upset. Her mother has just lost her baby. But that’s no excuse for what you were trying to do.’

Again, a low reply from Jake.

‘Comfort?’ Isaac laughed cruelly. ‘I know the kind of “comfort” you had in mind, you dirty little tyke. Taking advantage of the poor lass when she was upset.
That’s what you were doing.’

Another murmur from Jake and then the sound of a slap. ‘Don’t answer me back, boy. And like I say, it’ll be no good running to matron. Not this time. You may have been her
blue-eyed boy up to now, but when she hears you’ve been after a young girl, then she’ll have no more sympathy for you. You mark my words. You’ll have blotted your copybook with
her good an’ proper.’

Meg blinked. The master sounded gleeful, as if he had been waiting for just such an occasion.

‘It’s the cell for you, boy, for a couple of days and nothing to eat but bread and water. Let’s see if that’ll curb your beastly desires.’

This time, Meg heard Jake argue. ‘You can’t do that. Not without the guardians’ say-so.’

Isaac’s answering bellow seemed to shake the door. ‘How dare you argue with me?’

Heavy footsteps moved across the room, then came the sound of something swishing through the air. Meg shuddered, knowing that the master had picked up the cane from his desk. ‘Bend over,
boy. We’ll see what a good thrashing can do for you. I don’t need to ask the guardians’ permission for that!’

Meg was forced to stand listening to every swipe of the cane. They seemed to go on and on, yet Jake made no sound. Not a cry, not even a whimper.

When she could bear it no longer, she turned and ran out into the men’s backyard, looking wildly to right and left. But the dusk had deepened. It was almost dark now and the yard was
deserted. Then she heard a noise behind her in the building and turned to see a strange man just inside the entrance locking the door to the left of the master’s room. He turned and came
towards her, stepping out into the evening air. A tall, thin man dressed in a dark suit with a starched white collar. His face was pale and gaunt and he stooped slightly, as if he spent too much
time indoors bending over his books and ledgers. He paused for a moment and straightened up, taking in a deep breath as if it were the first time he had breathed fresh air that day.

‘Sir – oh, sir,’ she cried. The man jumped and blinked. He took a step back, startled by the girl rushing towards him. ‘Please help us. The master. He’s thrashing a
boy. Jake. Oh, please stop him. Please do something.’

The man’s lips curled. ‘Jake Bosley?’

‘I – I don’t know his second name. Only that he’s called Jake.’

The man nodded and said curtly, ‘That’ll be him, all right. Trouble, he is, with a capital T. You’d do best to keep your distance from him.’ He bent closer, squinting at
her through the darkness. ‘I haven’t seen you before. Just come in, have you?’

Meg nodded. ‘Three days ago.’

‘So how do you know Jake?’

‘I don’t. At least, I mean, I met him in here. In the yard.’

‘What’s he done?’ Again the man’s lips were tight with anticipated disapproval.

‘He was trying to comfort me. My mother’s just – just lost her baby and I was upset. He only put his arm around me.’

‘Put – his – arm – round – you!’ The man was scandalized.

‘Well, yes. I was crying and—’

‘He’s not even supposed to talk to you, let alone have physical contact. Where do you think it would lead if we allowed that sort of thing to go on? Why do you think we separate the
men from the women? Oh no, I’m sorry, girl, but there’s nothing I can do. And let me tell you, even if I could I wouldn’t. Bosley deserves every bit of punishment he gets. And if
you’ve any sense, you’ll get back to the women’s quarters pretty sharpish and stay there.’

Meg stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then her shoulders dropped with defeat. ‘I – I can’t. I was told to wait outside the master’s room.’

‘Then I suggest you get back there at once.’

Without another word the man stepped aside, walked around her and crossed the yard into the darkness. With the sound of finality, the entrance door banged behind him as he left. Dragging her
feet, Meg went back into the building to wait outside the master’s room.

The sound of the beating had stopped, but Isaac was still shouting. ‘Get yourself to the cell.’

The door opened and Meg, her eyes widening, gasped in horror. Jake emerged slowly, hardly able to walk. Tears streamed down his face, but still he made no sound.

Instinctively, Meg reached out to him. ‘Oh, Jake, I’m so sorry . . .’

The boy shrank from her, avoiding her touch. He turned his head away and moved towards the door. She watched him go, sick at heart to think that he hated her now. But at the doorway, hidden from
Isaac Pendleton’s view, he turned and smiled. Though his mouth still trembled he winked at her. He glanced back at the door to the master’s room and, as Isaac appeared, he turned away
abruptly.

‘Come in, Kirkland,’ the master said. His voice was still stern, but he was no longer shouting.

Trembling and biting her lip, Meg moved forward and entered the room. Isaac closed the door firmly behind her.

‘Now, my dear—’ Suddenly, his tone was very different. He smiled down at her and put his hand on her shoulder. ‘Come along and sit by the fire and we’ll have a
little chat, shall we?’ He guided her towards the sofa and pressed her to sit down. Then he sat down close by, leaning towards her. Putting his fat hand on her knee, he said,
‘You’ve not been here long, so I’m not going to punish you. Not this time, but you must understand and obey the rules we have here.’

Meg stared at him, meeting his gaze fearlessly. She steeled herself not to shrink away from him, though his touch seemed to burn through her skirt. She wanted to push his hand away, to stand up
and scream at him to leave her alone. Instead she narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

‘You must know by now that men and women are separated. Oh, I know it seems hard, especially if there are husbands and wives in here, but there are good reasons. You see, my dear girl,
boys and men of all ages for that matter, especially the sort that we have in here, cannot resist their animal urges. A boy like Jake has to be taught a lesson. One day he’ll thank me. Oh
yes, he will.’ He nodded agreement with himself, a satisfied smile stretching his thick lips. ‘Jake Bosley will leave here one day a fine upstanding young man and it will all be thanks
to me.’

Meg could bear his touch no longer. She stood up suddenly and his hand fell from her knee. There was a fleeting look of anger on his face, but Meg said swiftly, ‘Master, I’m so sorry
I broke the rules and I promise you it will never happen again. But you must believe me – we were doing nothing wrong. I swear it. I was very upset and he – Jake – was being very
kind to me.’

Isaac smiled sadly. ‘Oh, my dear child, how young and innocent you are. But there, there.’ He took hold of her hand and patted it. Meg wanted to snatch her hand away; his touch made
her flesh crawl. ‘I’m here to protect you. Now, you run along and have your supper with the children.’ He leant towards her as if sharing a confidence. ‘When they’re
all in bed, I’d like you to do something for me. Just to show me how really sorry you are.’ His tone was silky. Meg was silent, holding her breath, afraid of what he was going to say.
‘I’d like you to stay up in the dormitory with the children so that Miss Daley is free. And you’ll tell her that I’d like to see her, won’t you?’

‘Oh, but Miss Daley’s going to give me some tests tonight. To – to see if I can help teach.’

For a fleeting moment, Isaac’s face was like thunder, then he forced a laugh and said, ‘Well, well, how very conscientious of our little schoolmarm. But you tell her from me that she
can do that another time. Now –’ suddenly he pulled her close to him, so that she felt his stale breath on her face – ‘you’ll do that for me, little Meg, won’t
you? And we’ll say no more about what happened in the yard, eh?’

It was a threat, yet for once there was nothing she could do but nod her head in agreement, even though she hated herself for giving in.

When Meg burst into the children’s dormitory, Louisa Daley put a finger to her lips. Most of the children were already asleep and the others were drowsy, just on the
point of falling into a kinder world than they knew in their waking hours.

‘I’ve had to put little Betsy Arnold into my room. She’s got the most awful cough. Matron has given me some medicine for her, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much
good.’

‘Miss Daley, Louisa—’ Meg began urgently.

‘Yes, yes, I know what you’re going to say, but I haven’t forgotten. We can sit quietly in my room. We’ll be on hand for Betsy then. I’ll test you on arithmetic
tonight. Your written English is very good—’

‘No, no, you don’t understand—’

‘Oh, my dear.’ Louisa took Meg’s trembling hands in hers. ‘Here I am prattling on about schoolwork and I haven’t asked how your mother is.’

‘She’s poorly, but I think she’ll be all right. But she – she lost the baby.’ For a moment Meg’s thoughts were diverted from the message she carried.
‘It was a boy too. I think Dad would have like another boy. He was that thrilled when Bobbie was born.’

‘Oh, Meg, I’m so sorry. No wonder you don’t want to work. I do understand that you really wouldn’t be able to concentrate—’

‘It’s not that. Oh, Louisa, it’s the master.’

Louisa paled. ‘What – what about the master?’

The words came tumbling out. ‘I’m so sorry, Louisa, if it’s my fault. You see, I was coming down from the infirmary after seeing Mam and Jake Bosley was in the yard. He –
he saw me crying and tried to comfort me and the master saw us.’

Louisa shuddered. ‘That man sees everything,’ she murmured bitterly. ‘From his bedroom and the landing on this floor he can see all the yards. Oh, I can tell you, Isaac
Pendleton misses nothing. I only wish I’d thought to warn you, my dear. I suppose he’s punishing you both in some way, is he?’

‘He – he thrashed Jake.’

Louisa closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. ‘Poor Jake, but it’s not the first time and I don’t expect it will be the last. However many beatings he has, it doesn’t
seem to dampen his spirit for long.’ She paused and then looked into Meg’s green gaze. ‘What about you? What is your punishment?’

‘He – he asked me to look after the children tonight while you – while you—’ Meg bit her lip.

Flatly, Louisa finished the sentence for her. ‘While I take some time off.’

Wordlessly, Meg nodded.

‘It’s not your fault, Meg. He’s been hounding me for weeks. Ever since I came here, in fact.’ Louisa grimaced wryly. ‘I think he’s got me in mind for the
position of Mrs Pendleton number two.’

Meg stared at her in disbelief. ‘You wouldn’t,’ she breathed. ‘Oh, you wouldn’t marry
him
!’

Louisa laughed and for a brief moment the ridiculous thought drove away Meg’s sadness and she began to laugh too. They leant against each other, overcome by a fit of girlish giggles.
Drying her eyes at last, Louisa said, ‘Well, I’d better go. I daren’t refuse. Let’s just hope I can keep him at arms’ length. Where is he? In his office?’ She
shuddered and inclined her head in the direction of the master’s bedroom across the landing. ‘I certainly don’t fancy going to his room across there. Now,’ she went on more
briskly, ‘you will look after poor little Betsy, won’t you?’ Suddenly, there was a spark of mischief in her brown eyes. ‘Of course,’ she said slowly and deliberately,
‘if you’re
really
worried about her, you’ll have to come and fetch me. Won’t you, Meg?’ she added pointedly.

Meg giggled again, the conspiracy between them chasing away some of her sadness about her mother and her anxiety over Jake. She didn’t like being the cause of the boy’s punishment.
Especially when he had tried to be so kind to her.

‘When shall I come down for you then?’

‘Oh, in about an hour.’

‘But there isn’t a clock. How shall I know the time?’

‘I’ll leave you my watch,’ the young schoolmistress said, unfastening the fob watch she always wore pinned just above her left breast and pressing it into Meg’s hand.
‘Don’t lose it,’ she said. ‘My father gave it to me. It’s all I have to remember him by.’

Louisa hurried away, dreading her mission, yet anxious not to frustrate the master any further.

Meg placed Louisa’s watch on the battered chest of drawers and sat down beside the small bed where Betsy lay. The child was restless, her breathing rasping and laboured. Meg poured a
little water from the china ewer into the bowl and dipped a flannel into it. Wringing most of the water from it, she dabbed at the child’s hot face.

She remembered her mother doing this for Bobbie when he’d had a fever. Betsy opened her eyes and stared up fearfully.