Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Minnie tried three different times to sneak out of her bedroom and down the hall, but each time she was thwarted by a servant passing through.
She’d had no idea how early they arose to prepare for the day.
She supposed she was going to have to learn a great many things about how to look after herself — and a husband. She couldn’t recall the time before her father had become prosperous. For as long as she could remember, they had always had servants about.
Worries about that, however, could wait until later.
First would come the wedding itself. Minnie had stayed up all night wondering about marriage to Tommy.
Specifically, just what he would expect from her.
He had said he didn’t anticipate her being in his bed if she wasn’t ready for it, but they were to be married — surely, at some point, he would expect it?
It wasn’t that she was opposed to intimacy with him. She just… wasn’t quite ready. Not now. Not with everything happening. And how was she to promise that she would ever be ready?
Tommy had agreed to marry her regardless of what she could offer him, so she would have to base her decision on that.
Finally, she had realized there was only one option.
It had taken her longer than she would have liked to tie her sheets together, and when she fastened the one end to the bottom of her bed frame, she prayed in desperation that they would hold and she wouldn’t go falling to her death before the rest of her life even began.
She picked up her valise, in which she had thrown a few of her simpler gowns as well as a change of undergarments and a few other sentimental items she couldn’t part with, including her childhood rag doll and the comb set her grandmother had gifted her, and threw it out the window.
It landed with a thud in the garden below, and she followed much more carefully, using the bricks jutting out from the wall as best she could while keeping a tight grip on the sheet.
She tugged at it while she was still able to keep a hand on the windowsill and was glad when the bed didn’t budge.
Perhaps this might work after all.
Her heart was in her throat as she slowly worked her way down the wall, and when she finally reached the ground, she had to stand for a minute, her hand on her chest, as she tried to refill her lungs with air.
“Minnie!”
She turned around at Tommy’s hiss of her name, as though he was trying to call to her without making any sound.
Tommy!” she said, nearly running into his arms, but stopping short when she remembered they didn’t have that type of relationship — at least, not yet. “I’m so sorry,” she said, her breath still coming in gasps. “I tried to leave a few times, but each time someone was walking in the hallway.”
“I appreciate the idea, Minnie, but I have to say, when I saw you hanging from that sheet, I nearly went out of my mind with worry.”
Minnie blinked. She hadn’t realized he cared so much.
“I thought you would appreciate my effort.”
“I did, but Minnie…” He rubbed at his forehead, appearing pained.
“You care,” she stated rather stupidly, and he narrowed his eyes at her.
“Of course I care. Is it not obvious?”
Before she could answer, however, he reached forward, and for a moment, she thought he was going to take her hand, but instead, he picked up the valise from the ground beside her.
“We’d best go, or we’ll miss the train.”
“Do we still have time?”
“I have a hack waiting to take us to the station. It’s only ten to fifteen minutes away, but it’s a busy place.”
Minnie nodded as she followed him, slipping into the street in front of her house.
Her parents’ home was a grand Victorian, built when her father’s business grew in prosperity.
It was at the opposite edge of Salford from the factories, far enough that it didn’t seem as working-class as most of the neighborhood, but close enough to the docks that her father wasn’t far from his work.
When they reached the end of the street, just as she was about to climb into the hack, she took one look back at the home that she had grown up in, where so many memories resided, taking a deep breath as she took the final step into the carriage, one which signified a new chapter.
When she turned to Tommy, she was surprised to find him watching her so intently that his green eyes were laced with concern.
“Are you all right?” he asked gruffly.
She bit her lip. “I think so,” she said. “It just hit me that I’m leaving home, likely forever.”
“Will you miss it?”
“I’ll miss some things about it, but I realize now that so many of the memories I held there are tainted, for the love I thought was there wasn’t true.
How can my parents truly love me if my father is willing to sell me off, and my mother would just let it happen?
I’ll miss the memories with my sister, but she’s already gone, married off, and living in Sheffield. ”
She wiped away a tear that formed, one that was caused by missing her sister, yes, but mostly by what she knew was also a result of the rapid change in events.
Tommy reached out hesitantly, taking her hand in his.
“When we can, we’ll visit her. How does that sound?”
She nearly melted into his soft, understanding smile.
“That would be wonderful,” she said, her words emerging in a rush.
She wasn’t sure if the warmth she felt toward him stemmed from gratitude or a growing affection she shouldn’t allow, given the good chance he might never return her feelings.
She was worried about what she was beginning to feel for this man, for she wondered whether he would ever truly feel the same toward her.
“Then that’s settled,” he said, just as the hack came to a stop in front of the Manchester Victoria Station. It was a grand, imposing structure of red brick and stone facades, tall arched windows, and decorative ironwork. What captured most of Minnie’s attention, however, was the people.
People were everywhere. Of all ages, all manner of dress, all speeds — some walking at a slow, leisurely pace, but most moving at a fast clip as they hustled to make their train. Minnie wondered if any of them were also running away from their lives as she was.
Tommy held out a hand to help Minnie down from the hack, paying the driver before he left. As she watched him do so, Minnie realized how much this trip of theirs was likely costing Tommy — much more than just his time, his reputation, and his hand in marriage.
“I brought all of the pin money I could find,” she said in a rush. “It isn’t much, but hopefully it’s enough for a ticket.”
“How often have you ridden the train?” he asked.
“A few times,” she said, but she didn’t want to share that most of the time she had ridden the train, her family’s private coach had practically delivered them to the platform where they could enter the first-class train, without much break in luxury.
Tommy led her inside the station, which was filled with the sounds of puffing steam engines, the atmosphere charged with excitement and urgency as passengers hurried to catch their trains.
There were vendors selling newspapers and refreshments, the aroma of hot tea and baked goods wafting through the air, causing Minnie’s mouth to water and her stomach to rumble as she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, for she had been too apprehensive to eat more than a couple of bites at dinner, and this morning, of course, there had been no time for breakfast.
“Are you hungry?” Tommy asked as though reading her thoughts, and she realized that no one had ever paid her this much attention before, taking the time to understand what she was thinking before she even knew herself.
“I can get something on the train,” she said, causing Tommy to look at her strangely.
“There is no food on the train.”
“Of course there is! Why, every time I travel with my father…” She realized suddenly that the train travel she was used to was not an experience Tommy shared. “There is no food in the train cars we are travelling in, is there?” she finished.
“No,” Tommy said with a quick shake of his head. “There is not.”
“Then yes, I could use something now,” she said quietly, and he nodded before walking through the crowd to buy from a vendor at the other end of the train platform. As she ate her baked blueberry scone, Tommy stood in line for tickets, refusing to take any of her money for payment.
Minnie spent the time watching the mix of travellers, some of whom were sitting on the wooden benches that lined the platform, others standing, but most of them moving.
There were well-dressed gentlemen and ladies in finery, workers in more modest attire, and families with children, most eager for their journeys.
Tommy led her toward one of the platforms, looking back and forth, and Minnie leaned in close.
“Are you worried?”
“I am concerned that your family might have noticed you missing by now. The train station will be the first place they would search for you.”
“We are fortunate, then, that my parents are not early risers. I am hoping we will be well away from Manchester by the time they realize I am gone.”
“Let’s hope.”
They walked up the stairs, Tommy carrying their small bags, and he held an arm out to allow Minnie to be the first to step into the train car.
She stopped so quickly that he ran into the back of her.
She took a breath, steeling herself. It was… not how she had remembered train travel.
There was no plush seating, no rich fabrics, no elegant decor. Instead, there were plain, hard seats, lined up in rows.
Clean floors and meticulously polished wood were replaced by walls and seats showing signs of wear, with crumbs on the floor and visible dirt around the car.
No individual areas were providing the passengers with privacy. Instead, the car was bustling and noisy, crammed full of people packed closely together.
No one wore fine fabrics, but rather durable, working clothing, while the sweet fragrances and colognes were replaced by the smells of less cleanliness and food of all manner.
“Everything all right?” Tommy said behind her, and Minnie nodded.
Discomfort reigned as Minnie felt so far removed from the life she knew, but she was also strangely excited. Each of these people had a story to tell, and with the facade of finery washed away, they were likely more genuine than anyone she usually kept company with.
Their journeys likely held far more meaning, for a train ride would not be taken out of luxury, but rather out of necessity or for a well-meaning intention, such as visiting a loved one.
Or running away to Gretna Green.
She turned around, finding Tommy watching her closely, and the realization of all he was doing for her, all he had set aside, all this was costing him, rushed through her.
She didn’t know what she had done to deserve his generosity, but she was thankful that he was here with her, that she was not alone.
“Thank you, Tommy,” she said, and his green eyes glinted, causing a responding flash of interest within her. “For everything.”