Chapter Thirteen

Alice woke up the next morning feeling quite happy. She felt as though she had really put Sarah in her place and that she would no longer be so troublesome for the Alcotts. She hoped that was the case anyway. Otherwise she may have poked an already out of control flame.

She got back into her normal routine of cooking for the children and changing and feeding the babies. At nine o’clock they were settled into the schoolroom with Joseph. Alice got to work with sweeping the floors and washing the dishes. Later, she decided, she would clean the bedding and hang it out to dry in the afternoon sunshine.

After she’d just finished sweeping the ground floor of the orphanage, there was a knock on the door. Setting the broom aside, Alice made her way down the hallway to the door, silently praying that there was not a child on the other side of it.

Instead when she opened the door, the three Alcott sisters stood before her.

Annie was wearing her usual simple, feminine blue dress that she’d accessorised with a matching thin overcoat and a straw bonnet. Her outfit was perfect for the warmer season.

Kitty was dressed in a finer gown. The dress was royal blue and loose fitting around her slightly rotund stomach. Alice smiled knowing that there was a little baby on the way. Kitty might’ve been a little overly energetic, but she was a good mother.

Little J was dressed similarly in the way that she was expecting too. Neither sister was particularly obvious, but there was a slight protrusion. At the dinner the night before she’d learned that Little J’s given name was ‘Jane’ and that she’d always been known as ‘Little J’ so as not to confuse her with her aunt for whom she was named.

“Good morning,” Kitty chirped, inviting herself inside the orphanage. She was followed in promptly by her two younger sisters. Annie was last and mouthed ‘sorry’ as she passed Alice.

“What are you all doing ‘ere?” Alice asked, closing the door behind them.

“Well, we’re all mamas … and future mamas,” Kitty added, nodding to a blushing Little J. “And we’re here to help you until … who was it again, Annie?”

“Mrs Eloise Brown,” Annie replied. “She was the best qualified applicant from the advertisement that I placed earlier in the week. I had a few quick responses and Mrs Brown had the best, and most, references. She will start in a few days once she has her belongings together. So in the mean time we’ve left our little ones with mama, Little J’s husband is minding their practice, and we’re here to help you.”

The three sisters decided to divide and conquer before Alice had managed to say anything. While the children remained in their makeshift schoolroom, Alice and the Alcott sisters had the entire orphanage spick and span. The laundry, dishes and sweeping had all been done and a beef stew was simmering away ready for the midday meal.

Surrounding the wooden bench in the kitchen, Alice poured the sisters cups of tea while they got into, what Alice thought was their main motivation in coming, a gossip session.

“I suppose you would not have heard – James is no longer engaged,” Little J said casually as she sipped from her cup.

Alice nearly brought back up what she’d already drunk. “Excusez-Moi?” Had she heard right? Had he really ended his engagement with that poisonous woman after she’d left? Another thought struck her which caused some alarm. Had he done it for her?

“Oh, yes,” Kitty said deviously. “And I suppose we have you to thank. He was up in arms about what she said to you. He wouldn’t go into detail but apparently she insulted you?” Kitty allowed Alice time to fill in the gaps in the story.

“She did.” Alice nodded. A few choice words had escaped Sarah’s bitter lips. “She threatened me also. She seemed to think that James and I …” Alice did not know how to finish her sentence.

“Oh,” Annie said, turning her nose up. “Odious woman.” Alice had never heard such unkind remarks come from Annie before now but she agreed it was warranted.

Alice could quite agree.

“She’s gone now, that is the main thing,” Little J added positively. “We won’t have to ever worry about her walking about the halls as the mistress of our home.” She sounded quite defensive when she spoke about the manor. No matter where they lived, Alice deduced, the house would always be their home. She admired that, and envied it. She’d lived in a number a shabby apartments in Paris, always moving and never settling. After her parents had been killed, she and Jacques had spent many a night on the street before finding the republican rebels who soon quickly became like family.

“I don’t doubt James will be along soon to tell you himself. Our brother is so hopelessly in love with you, Jacqueline, it’s quite adorable.” Kitty had a sappy look on her face as she sipped her tea. The resemblance between them was alarming. It was as if James was looking out at her through Kitty’s eyes.

Alice knew it couldn’t be true, they’d only known each other such a short time. She wasn’t in love with him. She was fond of him and she cared about him but she wasn’t in love with him, not yet anyway. “I don’t think so,” Alice mumbled.

“Oh, please,” Little J scoffed. “Darling, we know our brother. He was not exactly the monogamous type before he met you.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Alice said, slightly embarrassed that her poor English stopped conversations.

“Monogamous?” Little J repeated. Alice nodded. “It means to stay with one person. To be faithful. James has done everything to avoid that for years. Ever since he began noticing women he’s been a real Casanova. But you’re a good influence on him.”

Alice did understand that reference. She had heard of the philandering Giacomo Casanova. She didn’t think that Monsieur Casanova was a nice person to be compared to. Was James really like that?

“You are, Jacqueline. Don’t let his past deter you. Our brother would do anything for us. He would do anything for you. He will be one of the best men you will ever know.” Kitty reached out and touched the back of Alice’s hand comfortingly.

Alice offered a mere smile. Once again she was torn. She was torn between following her head and her heart. The two often combatted one another, never agreeing. All those years ago her head had told her to keep Jacques away from the barricade but her heart had told her to follow him. Now her head was telling her to run and her heart was telling her to stay. Her heart had betrayed her before.

“Well, mama loves you. Take comfort in that.” Annie chuckled and leant against the bench. Alice respected Emilia greatly, and hoped to call her ‘friend’ in the near future. She was a wonderful and kind woman who looked for reasons to give any man or woman a chance. “But … now that it is just us girls,” Annie said reservedly. “I have some news …” Annie looked to Little J cautiously. “This information must not leave this room. It is just between sisters.”

Alice did not know if she should leave the room. She was not their sister, she was barely their friend. But they did not ask her to leave.

“Joseph and I are going to have a baby.” Annie could barely talk through, what appeared to be, her nerves. She touched her flat stomach tenderly.

Kitty squealed and leapt into Annie’s arms to hug her tightly. “Oh, how wonderful!” Kitty exclaimed.

Little J let out a relieved breath. Alice couldn’t help but beam either. She’d seen what not falling pregnant had done to Annie and her confidence as a wife. She and Joseph deserved their miracle. “Oh, I’ve been keeping that secret for days. It has nearly killed me,” she giggled.

When Kitty and Annie separated, Annie spoke. “Don’t yet tell mama. I want to be far enough along that I know nothing will go wrong. I can’t have her crocheting booties when something might happen.”

“Annie, you’re allowed to be happy and excited,” Little J said, frowning.

“I am,” Annie replied. “But you never know. It’s best to be prepared.”

“Congratulations, Annie,” Alice said warmly. A baby was a good thing but Annie could not yet be happy about it, and if all she could do was offer her congratulations then she would do that.

Annie smiled at Alice. “Thank you.”

“Now we must get you and James married so that we might all be expecting at the same time!” Kitty said gleefully, clapping her hands together at the same time. “What names have you two picked out? I need ideas. William is adamant if it’s a son that he be named ‘John’ after his father but I don’t want anything so plain and boring.”

Alice was still stunned at her former statement. How did they discuss such things so easily? Perhaps it was a sisterly thing.

“Harrison and I like ‘Victoria’ for a girl and we think ‘Edward’ is sweet for a boy. But they’re mine. You can’t have them,” Little J said, amused.

“They’re really pretty,” Annie offered.

Kitty pouted. “My son can’t be named ‘John’,” she moaned. “Jacqueline, do you have a name for a boy?”

Alice wasn’t very familiar with English first names, only those of the people she had encountered. “‘ave you considered names from different countries. France boasts some very nice male names.”

Kitty looked intrigued. “Which ones?” she asked.

“Jacques,” she replied automatically. She’d always liked her brother’s name. But then again, she’d like to name her own son after her beloved brother. Her father’s name was also a strong name. “Or François.”

Kitty pondered those for a minute. “I like Jacques. It’s quite interesting. But I know William and he would never let me. Did you all get that letter from Sabine? Oh, I love Scottish names. You can just tell that her new son is going to grow up to be as burly and handsome as his father.”

“Who is Sabine?” Alice wondered aloud.

“Our cousin,” Annie replied.

“She had a new son a few weeks ago. A little brother, Colin, for her young daughter Ellie. We’ll get to meet him at Christmas. The holiday is a big deal for our family. We all travel north to Yorkshire to stay at our grandmother’s farm with our aunt and uncle and cousins. Now that several of us are married our family continually grows,” Little J explained. She paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. “If you and James marry by Christmas you may come too!”

Seeing the dynamics between the three sisters, Alice could see they were a force to be reckoned with. But they loved each other dearly and some part of Alice … a lot actually … really wanted to be a part of that.

“We’re embarrassing her, girls, look at her blush,” Kitty remarked. Sure enough, Alice could feel the heat filling her cheeks. “Let us change the subject. I’d like to know a little more about you, Jacqueline. For instance … where did you grow up?”

“Paris,” Alice replied. Annie already knew she was born and raised in Paris. That was all she really knew about her and she’d never pressed the issue further. Something told her that Kitty and Little J were not so easy going when it came to details.

“What is the city like?” Little J asked curiously. “Papa never took us further than Scotland.”

Paris? Her Paris was poor and crowded. Her Paris was filled with starving people who were willing to kill for a crust. Her Paris was filled with sick people, too poor to afford medicine. Her Paris was hell decorated with majestic buildings. “One’s view of Paris lies in the eye of the beholder,” Alice replied mysteriously.

“What did your parents do for a living?” Kitty asked, choosing to abandon the subject.

Truth be told, Alice didn’t really know. Sometimes they had money and sometimes they didn’t. When they did they would live in an apartment for a while and when they didn’t they would rely on friends of make do with churches for free dwellings for the night. “Bakers,” she lied. “They passed away a five years ago.” She couldn’t remember their faces anymore. It had been awhile since she could. She knew her father and Jacques were similar. They both had dark hair and strong features. She was like her mother in height and frame and she and her brother had inherited their bright, blue eyes from her. But the things like their smiles and their laughs and their voices were gone. She deeply missed that. Soon Jacques would be gone too. She would miss him the most.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Kitty said sadly.

Alice smiled slightly. “It’s alright,” she replied quietly. “I don’t mind being on my own.” She’d been alone inside her head for so long. Having people to talk to was strange. James, who knew nearly everything, was almost too good to be true.

“We don’t want you to feel that way, Jacqueline.” Annie smiled kindly. “You don’t have to be alone anymore. We’re a large, loud and slightly dysfunctional family and we know everybody’s business but we’re willing to walk through fire for one another. If you let us, you can be a part of it too.”

Alice was touched. It had been a long time since she’d been a part of a family. Having people to depend on seemed completely foreign.

“You don’t have to marry James if you don’t want to either.” Kitty’s casual comment caused all four women to burst into fits of giggles. Kitty smirked and tapped her slightly rounded stomach. “Come along, John, it is near midday. Let us feed the children.” Kitty made her way over to the pot and stirred it with the ladle. “I hate that name. Oh my, that smells delicious.” Kitty inhaled the aroma from the pot. Alice agreed. The stew was nicer than anything she’d ever been able to make. “Little J, if I have to have another caesarean, you will make sure my son is not called ‘John’, won’t you?”

Little J looked a little frightened at Kitty’s comment. Alice had heard of caesareans before, though she’d only ever heard of them being done on horses and even then, the poor mares had died. Had Kitty endured such a horror?

“Don’t talk like that, Kitty,” Little J mumbled. “You will name your son or daughter. I will have no say in it.”

Kitty didn’t look bothered by her sister’s tone. Instead, she turned to Alice and made a line with her hand across the base of her stomach. “I have a lovely scar here where this one,” she said, gesturing to Little J. “Cut me open to save my daughter and me. She’s a hero no matter what she thinks.”

Alice’s eyes widened. She couldn’t imagine the bravery it would take to take a knife to someone and keep a clear head while one did everything in their power to save them. Her stomach still turned at the memory of the blood from the dark June day that held the revolution. “That is incredible,” Alice managed to say, complimenting Little J.

“You should come with us to church next Sunday,” Kitty suggested. “Joseph can be frightfully boring sometimes but it is a nice place to be if one wants to think.” Annie shot her sister a displeased look.

Alice felt a little uneasy. “I appreciate the offer …” she stammered.

“Jacqueline is Catholic, Kitty,” Annie interjected.

“Oh, really?” Kitty sounded interested rather than put off. It seemed that there was not a vast majority of Catholics in London. “Do you attend your own church, then?”

“I don’t know where a Catholic church is,” Alice admitted.

“I know of one,” Little J said. “It’s a little out of the way, but it is Catholic. Our Lady of the Assumption & St Gregory. If you’d like, we can mind the orphanage while you go and visit. It must be quite a while since you’ve been.”

‘A while’ did not do justice to the length of time since Alice had even seen a confessional. “You would do that for me?” Did this mean that they were indeed friends? The thought excited her. Getting answers and seeking forgiveness. She could finally have someone to tell her tale to – her full tale – without fear of judgement or persecution. A priest was bound by God to keep the secrets of his flock.

“Go,” Annie smiled encouragingly. The wife of an English clergyman was giving her permission to go the church of a different religion. She felt as though the Alcotts were the rarest of the rare when it came to pure hearted families.

---

French translations:

Excusez-Moi: Excuse me

Sorry this wasn't up sooner. I've been at work all day and I didn't have a break today so I'm exausted. I work as a chef/barista at a little cafe so it's always under the pump. If I see another piece of bacon I will scream :P On the bright side I got told that I make a better cup of coffee then my boss haha ... then I got hit on by a creepy old guy by what can you do :P

Anyways, night all :) I'm off to bed and plan on sleeping for about 15 hours straight so I hope you like this :)

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