Passing as Elias (3 page)

“Indeed,” Captain Greenwood said ten minutes later, continuing a conversation that Elizabeth had not been listening to, “though I do find the laws regarding marriage quite ridiculous in some instances. By marriage, the legal existence of a woman is consolidated into that of the husband, under whom she must obey. I find it wrong that a husband has complete financial control over his wife.”

Elizabeth’s attention was caught, “You do?” she said, looking up at him.

“Of course.” Captain Greenwood gave her a sideways glance and sighed, “I do apologize, Miss Searson. I fear I have a lot on my mind. Do forgive my incessant whining. I realize how inappropriate it might seem for me to be expressing my opinions so freely.”

“Not at all, Captain. I quite agree.” Elizabeth found her respect for Captain Greenwood increasing, “What is causing you so much worry?”

Captain Greenwood frowned and seemed to be deciding whether or not to confide in Elizabeth. After all, they barely knew each other.

“It is my sister,” he said after a moment of silence. “She is set to marry in a months time.” He did not seem pleased by this.

“Well, congratulations to her,” Elizabeth said awkwardly.

“She is quite happy,” Greenwood admitted, ‘but she is only sixteen, and does not know what marriage entails. I happen to know for a fact that the man she is going to marry is not what one would call gentle. I fear he may not be so romantic once they have settled into married life. I find him drunk at the Inn regularly. She says she does not mind, and the idea of belonging to a man is quite appealing to her.”

“Many women like the idea,” Elizabeth admitted with a shrug.

“Even you, Miss Searson?” Greenwood gave her a sly smile.

Elizabeth scoffed, and noticed they had slowed to a leisurely stroll as they crossed through a park, “That is rather personal, do you not think, Captain?”

“Indeed, I did not think you would be the type of woman who would be content as a housewife, with the wage you earn belonging to your husband - that is - if he allowed you to work at all.”

“You thought correct,” Elizabeth said fairly, “I do not plan to wed at all.”

Captain Greenwood came to a halt in front of Elizabeth and looked at her in an unusual way, “Some might find that socially humiliating,” he said.

Elizabeth frowned and looked up at him defiantly, “You sound like my mother,” she said haughtily. “What I believe is my own business, Captain.”

“You … you are a very peculiar woman, Miss Searson,’” he said with a small crease in his brow. He was frowning, but not in an unkind way. He seemed to be deep in thought.

“So I am told,” Elizabeth said, rather annoyed.

“Do not misunderstand me,” he continued, waving a hand, “I find you extremely … uncommon.”

Elizabeth felt her face becoming pinker by the second. She was not sure whether she should be mad or not.

“Have I offended you Miss Searson? I do apologize, but I find it extremely easy to talk plainly when in your company,” he said, frowning.

Elizabeth sighed and relaxed her eyebrows from their knitted position, “No Captain, I am not offended, and you may speak plainly, for I find it difficult not to most of the time.”

They fell in step once again and continued walking through the park. Elizabeth felt slightly awkward at the silence that followed. It seemed Captain Greenwood had run out of issues to discuss, and Elizabeth did not help matters by remaining silent.

Eventually they came to her front door. Captain Greenwood looked up at the shabby townhouse, with it’s dirty windows, and the peeling paint on the front door.

“Good night, Miss Searson,” he said as he gave a low bow.

“Goodnight Captain.” Elizabeth gave him a small nod before turning on her heel and walking through her front door.

Once inside, Elizabeth peered through the sitting room window, obscured by lacy curtains. She watched as the Captain gazed up at her house for a moment, before putting his hands behind his back and strolling away in the direction from which they had come.

“You are home early.”  Her mother’s voice came from the kitchen.

“Hello Mother.” Elizabeth gave a small smile as her mother, Mary, entered the sitting room.

“Did I hear a mans voice outside?” she enquired, walking over to the window and peering out onto the darkened street.

“‘Yes” Elizabeth did not see the point in lying. “Captain Greenwood escorted me home.”

“Did he now?” her mother straightened up with a curious expression on her face, “I did not know he was back in town.”

“Yes, he said he came back only yesterday,” Elizabeth explained, “He stopped by the apothecary this afternoon.”

Her mother nodded approvingly, “Do you think he shall call on you again?”

“
Mother,
” Elizabeth sighed exasperatedly, “Please.”

“
Really
, Elizabeth,”’ she huffed impatiently, “at this rate I shall never have grandchildren.”

Mary Searson was a middle-aged widow, and Elizabeth was her only child. They rented a small two-bedroom house on the outskirts of the town. The walls were often damp, and the floorboards creaked. They had once owned a nicer house, but they had lost possession of it when Elizabeth’s father had died four years previously, for a woman was not able to own land.

Elizabeth was in a rather bad mood by the time she had reached her own bedroom. She undressed slowly in front of the fireplace, and hung her garments over a chair. She washed the day’s work from her body at the basin with a damp cloth, and pulled on her nightdress. Brushing her tangled red locks in front of a cracked mirror, she sighed and wondered if Captain Greenwood
would
call on her again. He had seemed very interested during their talk while he escorted her home. Or perhaps he was just being polite. Nevertheless, Elizabeth had made her views on courtship quite clear.
But
, said a little voice in her ear,
the Captain might be different. He spoke of equality, and the downfalls of marriage. Perhaps he would make a fine husband.
He might allow her to work, and even keep her own wage. Elizabeth shook her head frantically.
No
, she thought,
I am independent. I do not need a man.

Chapter Two

Unusual Absence

Elizabeth woke the next morning before the sun had risen above the hills. The sky outside was a deep ruby red, shot with gold. She could hear her mother snoring loudly in the room adjacent to hers. Dressing silently, she then tiptoed downstairs into the kitchen. A hard loaf of bread sat on the counter.  Elizabeth did not fancy a slice, for her mother had never been an excellent baker. The pendulum clock upon the wall told Elizabeth that it was five o’clock in the morning. She was not unfamiliar with waking up so early, for she had been forced to do it for years while her father was alive. Together, her mother and Elizabeth would rise before the sun and prepare breakfast for her father. She would help with the washing, cooking, and cleaning. This, her mother insisted, was good practice for when she was a wife. Alas, Elizabeth’s father had passed away, and so had their daily routine. These days, Mary Searson did not wake until the sun was high in the sky, and Elizabeth had long left for work at the apothecary. Elizabeth’s income was absolutely essential to maintain the weekly rent. Her mother worked from home, knitting, sewing, and mending for a small amount of money.

At half past seven Elizabeth left the house and began her walk to work. Today should be an easy day, for it was Saturday, and therefore the shop closed at one o’clock. She was not in a rush as she had been yesterday when she had failed to wake until ten minutes before eight o’clock. It was extremely out of character for her to be late. She arrived at the Apothecary with five minutes to spare, and felt quite pleased with herself to find that Professor de Bard was not waiting for her. She took out the key, and unlocked the door. Once inside, she drew the curtains, lit the lamps, and checked the  orders for the day. At two minutes til eight  she flipped the sign on the door to “open.” She expected Professor de Bard to walk in at any second, for he was always at work on time, however, eight o’clock came and passed. Five past eight. Ten past eight.  A quarter past eight.

Elizabeth did not fret too much for she knew the workings of the apothecary so well that she had no issue in running the shop alone. However, she did worry about accumulating a backlog of orders. During the day the Professor made an assortment of potions, poisons, and pills to satisfy the demand of the public. However, by ten o’clock he still had not shown up. Elizabeth assumed that he must be too ill to get out of bed – though she did not remember him ever being sick before. Regardless, if he was ill, Professor de Bard had a recipe for any sickness that plagued him, so surely he would arrive soon.

Elizabeth continued to worry slightly as the day continued. She rushed about helping customers, giving advice, and recommending different products.

Finally, one o’clock came with still no sign of Professor de Bard. Perhaps he had decided to take a day of. Mayhap he was testing Elizabeth.
Yes, that would be it
, she thought with a smirk,
the Professor is testing how I fair on my own
.

Once Elizabeth had closed the shop she decided to walk to the Professor’s house and inquire as to why he had not shown up today. Mostly, she wanted to gloat for coming to the conclusion that he was testing her. The Professor only lived a short distance away, in a rather pretty house that backed onto a field. Elizabeth had visited it many times before now, and did not feel awkward in the slightest about turning up unexpectedly.

Once at his doorstep, Elizabeth knocked loudly and waited for over a minute. There was no response, so Elizabeth knocked again – this time louder. Another minute passed in absolute silence. She tried the doorknob but found that it was locked. Getting annoyed, Elizabeth walked to the window that looked into his sitting room. She peered through the glass, which was difficult as it was quite grimy. She could not see any lamps lit, nor was there any movement. She rapped her knuckles against the glass loudly. Nothing. Heaving a sigh, Elizabeth walked away from the Professor’s home and headed back to her own house. Last night he had said that he had important business he needed to attend to, yet he had not mentioned anything about leaving.

When Elizabeth arrived home at two o’clock in the afternoon, the sky was a brilliant blue, and fluffy clouds floated lazily across the horizon. Removing her bonnet and untying her hair, Elizabeth stepped into the sitting room where she found her mother standing in front of the fire, waiting, with an eager look on her face.

Elizabeth sighed, “What a day I have had.” She slumped into a chair and looked up at her mother, “Professor de Bard did not show up today – nor did he answer his door when I called upon him to see if –”  She stopped suddenly, for her mother was showing a peculiar expression. “What is it?” she asked suspiciously.

“I have news,” her mother said with a quivering voice.

“Of the Professor?” Elizabeth sat up straight.

“No,” her mother frowned, “I am sure he is just preoccupied with some new concoction he has discovered. You know what he is like, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth nodded. It was true that the Professor often became obsessed if he felt he was close to a breakthrough in medical science.

Her mother sat down next to her and fixed Elizabeth with a wide-eyed gaze.

“I have something to tell you,” she persisted. It was clear she had been desperate to reveal this news for several hours.

“What? Why are you acting so strange?”

Mary Searson cleared her throat noisily, “Well, I was knitting a pair of little booties for Mrs Weatherby down the lane, when I heard a knock on the door around ten o’clock. I got up to answer it, and on the doorstep he stood.”

“On the doorstep who stood?” Elizabeth asked.

“I asked him to come in and sit down, and gave him a cup of tea. He looked right nervous, he did,” her mother continued.

“Who was it?” Elizabeth asked again.

Her mother ignored her, “I asked him what he wanted, and he said, well … he said that he wanted to make his intentions clear. Very polite he was, a proper gentleman. I was not quite sure what he meant though, so I asked him.”

“I do not follow,” Elizabeth said, rather confused, and becoming slightly annoyed.

“He said his mother had brought him up good and proper, and to always treat a lady with respect. Bless him. He said ‘Mrs Searson, I have come here to inform you of my intentions to court your daughter.’”

“
What
?” Elizabeth said thunderstruck, “
who
? Who was it?”

“George Greenwood, of course!” her mother said excitedly, “the Captain sat in that very spot, and told me that he planned to begin a courtship.”

“
No,
” Elizabeth gasped, “he
never!
”

“He did!” Her mother was positively beaming, “He asked my permission and all. What a lovely man he is, and handsome too. Why, a captain of the Royal Navy courting
my
daughter! Wait until Dot hears about this!
Her
daughter is marrying a tradesman. Ha! You’ll be a proper lady, Elizabeth. Oh my goodness, the children will be ever so handsome.”